It’s never too early to get started on next year’s NFL draft, or to at least get an idea of which other teams we should check in on during the upcoming college football season when our own rooting interests aren’t a factor (excited as I am to see my Golden Eagles start their Sun Belt takeover, they aren’t the only show in town).
And while the New Orleans Saints don’t have as much to work with as some teams in the 2023 draft, having already traded away their first-round selection. That means the soonest they’ll get on the clock is at No. 33 overall, the first pick of the second round. And, ah, they’ll be hoping for much better results this year than what earning that high of a pick would require.
The good news is that plenty of talent is available in the second round; recent picks New Orleans has made there include linebacker Pete Werner, center Erik McCoy, free safety Marcus Williams, and wide receiver Michael Thomas. The Saints have cleaned up in round two, and they’ll be expecting to do so again in 2023.
One prospect who should be on their radar is running back Zach Evans, a former five-star recruit for TCU who transferred to Ole Miss in hopes of standing out on a bigger stage this fall. The match was proposed by Pro Football Focus’ Michael Renner, who wrote of Evans as a prospect:
“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. 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.”
Funnily enough, Evans told the Clarion-Ledger’s Nick Suss that Kamara is one of two pro running backs he looks to model parts of his game after, the other being Cleveland Browns bellcow Nick Chubb. When looking for tips, a pair of players with 8 combined Pro Bowl appearances and 112 total touchdowns scored (including the playoffs) is a fine start.
Still, he’s got a long way to go before he’ll start earning those kind of comparisons in earnest. A season-ending turf toe injury cut his 2021 season short, but even before that Evans only averaging 9.7 carries per game. And he’s totaled just 18 receptions through two seasons with the Horned Frogs. Now suiting up for Lane Kiffin in Oxford, Miss., he’s got a big opportunity to make a splash and draw serious attention from the NFL. He’s another name to keep in mind when college football kicks off in just a few months.
And, yeah, the Saints could absolutely use another running back (likely sooner than the 2023 draft, when prospects like Evans could be available). Their depth behind Alvin Kamara isn’t exactly inspiring. Mark Ingram II and Tony Jones Jr. both missed time with injuries last season, weren’t very productive when they were available, and they’re entering the final year of their contracts. Dwayne Washington and Devine Ozigbo haven’t been able to get many snaps on offense. Abram Smith has some promise coming out of Baylor, but undrafted rookies like him rarely make the cut.
So there’s a reason that the Saints are being linked to trade candidates like Kareem Hunt and Kenyan Drake, and to future draft prospects like Evans. If Kamara misses time, and that appears likely given his arrest earlier this year in Las Vegas, New Orleans may struggle to run the football well enough to support Jameis Winston and their passing attack. An upgrade in the backfield would be worth exploring. Hopefully they don’t put it off until it’s too late.
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