The best NFL fit for Ole Miss running back Zach Evans in 2023 NFL Draft

Zach Evans is looking to become a household name at Ole Miss next season, and then he has his eyes set on the 2023 NFL Draft. However, Mike Renner of Pro Football Focus already has his eyes on the former TCU star, including the running back while attempting to find the perfect fit for each NFL franchise come next April.

According to Renner, the New Orleans Saints could be the perfect team to land the freshly-minted Rebels ball carrier.

“It’s a shame we haven’t gotten to see Evans featured much on a big stage yet, but that figures to change in 2022 after he transferred to Ole Miss,” wrote Renner. “He’s got such a loose running style that can eat contact without breaking stride. On 146 career carries, he’s averaged 7.3 yards per attempt with 4.8 of that after contact.”

If the Saints did end up landing Zach Evans, the running back would create one of the best one-two punches in the NFL with star back Alvin Kamara. Whether it’s Jameis Winston or a different quarterback running the offense, New Orleans would be in fantastic hands with their electrifying duo to lean on.

More on Zach Evans, Ole Miss Rebels

Furthermore, Zach Evans came to TCU as a five-star recruit and the top-ranked running back in the 2020 class, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

As a freshman, he ran for 415 yards and four touchdowns on 54 carries in nine games, also adding eight receptions for 76 yards. Last year, he played in just six games but had 92 carries for 648 yards and five touchdowns, adding ten receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown.

Then, Evans averaged 7.7 yards per carry as a freshman and 7.0 as a sophomore. His versatility in the backfield will be valuable for Ole Miss, and the Rebels should have a solid 1-2 punch with him and SMU transfer addition Ulysses Bentley.

“The scouting report on him is he runs angry, he gets downhill quick, fast and in a hurry,” said JD PicKell of On3 Sports. “So what that does to defenses, it means you got to be sharp with your reads. When you’re not sharp with your reads, if you’re going to be sloppy, you still have to decide one way or another very quickly, more than you want to ideally. So for Zach Evans to get downhill and to make a linebacker commit before he’s even ready to, that’s going to open things up for the rest of the offense. It’s no secret they did a lot in the portal. Jaxson Dart, Jaylon Robinson. They’re going to have some weapons, they’re going to have some guys they can throw the ball to. But they’re going to be much more wide open because of what Zach Evans is going to command from commitment in the run game from defenses.

“Even if they don’t command a lot from the defense in terms of what they can do in the passing game, you can still just hand the ball to (Evans) and that’s going to be an enormous luxury for Jaxson Dart, who is the presumed starter in Oxford. For him to have a guy he can just turn around and hand the ball to on first, second, even third down, that’s going to make a world of difference as he continues to mature and as Lane Kiffin breaks in his new offensive coordinator.”