Sean McVay will likely turn to talented rookie Zach Evans at running back in Week 7 after Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers suffered injuries in Week 6.
Williams, who smashed last week, notched a season-high 158 rushing yards and a touchdown on only 20 carries against the Cardinals. But, after exploding in the second half, he suffered an ankle sprain that will sideline him for at least a week. His backup, Ronnie Rivers, suffered a PCL sprain in his place and is expected to miss multiple weeks.
“That’s tough information for both of those guys who have done a really good job, and for our team obviously,” McVay told reporters. “But the initial prognosis looks like it’s going to be challenging for those guys in the immediate future.”
Now, enter Zach Evans, who’s available on 99% of waiver wires.
THE FORMER 5-STAR WITH AN UP-AND-DOWN COLLEGE CAREER
Evans was the No. 2 running back (and 16th overall player) in the 2020 class, behind some guy named Bijan Robinson and above players like Tank Bigsby, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Blake Corum.
However, the running back had a wild recruitment that saw him kicked off his high school team before the Texas state championship game. Then, he got released from his letter of intent from Georgia and committed to TCU after never being linked to them during his recruiting process.
After two sub-par years at TCU, where he was in a committee with Kendre Miller and Emari Demercado and never eclipsed 92 carries in a season, he transferred to Lane Kiffen and Ole Miss.
Evans shined in his one season at Ole Miss, rushing for 936 yards and nine touchdowns on 144 carries while sharing the backfield with freshman sensation Quinshon Judkins.
Between the off-field issues growing up, his weird collegiate career, and a few nagging injuries, Evans fell to the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft after testing well during the pre-draft process.
EVANS’ FIT WITH THE RAMS
Given Evans’ workhorse build, his three-down skill set, and his god-given talent, there’s some upside here in Sean McVay’s system from the former five-star running back.
“I think he has a nice skillset that compliments Cam (Akers), compliments Kyren Williams, Ronnie Rivers,” McVay said in the preseason. “And so, I think you’re always still looking at complimentary skillsets, whether that’s in a receiver, tight end, running back room. And that was kind of the appealing thing about Zach.”
McVay felt strong enough about Evans that they traded up for him to secure his signature in the sixth round.
“I thought (Evans) did a great job at Ole Miss, but even some of the stuff going back to TCU where he’s taking more handoffs out of the pistol, you could really see he’s a smooth runner,” McVay said. “He’s got a seamless ability to be able to work edges on people.”
ZACH EVANS’ WEEK 7 FANTASY OUTLOOK
With Williams and Rivers sidelined, Evans will get a chance to battle old vet Royce Freeman for McVay’s productive RB1 spot.
McVay’s scheme has produced a handful of fantasy RB1s, whether long-term or short-term, such as Todd Gurley, Cam Akers, Sony Michel, Darrell Henderson, Malcolm Brown, and Kyren Williams.
Depending on his ability to pass protect, Evans should get the nod over Freeman on early downs and maybe even more. However, Freeman is a dependable pass protector with the experience to keep Matthew Stafford upright.
“Obviously you saw Zach Evans get the first carries,” McVay said. “We’ve got Royce Freeman on the practice squad, and there will be some different things that we’re in the midst of working through right now. We’ll probably have a little bit better idea once you get the full gauntlet of what it is exactly looking like projection-wise on both Ronnie and Kyren, how that will reflect any sort of decisions as it relates to the roster, and then what it looks for the landscape of the league.”
Although we’ll see the Cooper Kupp & Puca Nacua Show against the Steelers, The Wolf is high on Evans this week, ranking him his RB32 (+8 vs ECR) on his Fantasy Week 7 Rankings.
