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Darrynton Evans wasn’t highly recruited out of high school and ended up going to Appalachian State where he excelled. His junior and final year was the pinnacle, as he rushed 255 times for 1,480 yards (5.8 ypc) and 18 touchdowns, adding 21 receptions for 198 yards and five more scores. He ran for 157 yards and a touchdown and was named the MVP of the New Orleans Bowl.
Scouting Report
At 5’10” 203 pounds, he’s not small, but he plays more like a scat back than lead back at times. He has trouble picking up short yardage, as he is sometimes indecisive and ends up making too many moves instead of hitting the crease and going. He was his team’s kick returner all three years in college, averaging over 25 yards per return and showed his ability to work in space.
Evans is set up to succeed the most as a receiver out of the backfield, but he will need to improve a lot in pass blocking and some as a receiver, as he wasn’t asked to get too complex in his route running in college. Those are skills he can work on and improve in the NFL, but he’ll need to find the right landing spot that will give him the time to learn.
Slashing outside-zone runner with glide in his stride and ability to run with elusiveness and creativity. Evans is a little undersized and might be viewed as a change-of-pace option, but he appears to have the three-down skill set to handle committee carries. He can run with patience, but has the loose hips and agile feet to plant-and-go in a hurry. He sees the field and does a nice job of setting up and eluding tacklers with lateral cuts or stacked moves. — Lance Zierlein, NFL.com
Mock Draft Results
Mel Kiper, ESPN: Not in mock
Daniel Jeremiah, NFL.com: Not in mock
Eric Edholm, Yahoo Sports: Not in mock
Doug Farrar, Touchdown Wire: Not in mock
Fantasy impact: Rookie year
If you are in a league that counts return yards and touchdowns for individual players. Evans may be on the radar for 2020. He’ll need to win that job of course, but that is within his wheelhouse early in his career. He will likely have trouble seeing the field on offense early on, while he sharpens his skills as a blocker and receiver.
Fantasy impact: Career
Evans isn’t a lock to have a strong fantasy career, but he has the open field moves to keep teams interested in him at the very least as a receiving back, which plays well into fantasy. He will need time and to land in a good spot, but he does have upside if things fall his way.