Keeping with the theme of having a young and inexperienced roster, the Los Angeles Rams are going with a unique approach on special teams. Their three specialists are all rookies, two of them being undrafted players.
Punter Ethan Evans was drafted in the seventh round out of Wingate, while long snapper Alex Ward and kicker Tanner Brown were both signed following the draft. General manager Les Snead has been impressed with the all-rookie operation on special teams but they haven’t exactly been tested in a real game setting.
For Evans, he’ll be in uncharted waters when the Rams attempt their first field goal or extra point. He’s never been a holder, which is something coaches had to teach the rookie this offseason.
Though many punters work as the holder, Evans never did because he doubled as Wingate’s kicker.
“We only have those three on the roster and they’ve got a lot of responsibility,” Snead said on the Doug Gottlieb Show. “Are they gonna win the job? Are they gonna actually be useful to us? The punter is about 6-foot-5. If you YouTube him, he’s deadlifting and cleaning and he’s never held before because he was punter and kicker at Wingate College. Point being, we had to teach him to hold. And now you’ve got a whole rookie operation. And they’re actually doing a really, really, really nice job.”
In the past, the Rams had Johnny Hekker holding for their kickers. Then, Riley Dixon assumed the role last season when he was with Los Angeles. Now it’s Evans’ turn.
Some teams opt to have a backup quarterback hold kicks but it doesn’t seem the Rams are going down that path with Stetson Bennett or Brett Rypien. It’ll be on Evans to get the ball down quickly and smoothly this season, assuming the Rams don’t bring in another punter to replace him before Week 1.
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