I know the NFL draft is long gone at this point, but can we talk about how ridiculous it is that no NFL teams bothered to draft Darren Evans? As a freshman, he runs for 4.4 yards per carry and 1265 yards total. He then has to sit out a year with an ACL tear. He comes back last season to run for 5.7 yards per carry and 854 yards total. A lot of athletes take 2 seasons to get back to their original form after an ACL tear, but Darren Evans is not them. The fear that usually keeps other athletes from fulling relying on their repaired ligament did not grip Darren Evans, and he was a better running back then he was when he was the ACC freshman of year. So what was the issue for NFL teams? Was it the total yardage? That number tends to go down when you are splitting time with 2 other pro-level running backs. If I am an NFL team and I'm looking to draft a running back, and I decide I'm going to weigh the pros and cons of Darren Evans, my list would look like this:
Cons
Does not possess elite speed
Sat out a season with injury
Cannot be used as a return specialist
Pros
Excellent power and vision at position
Solid blocking technique
Good hands in the passing game
Excellent character
Showed no hesitation coming back from injury
Averaged 5.7 yards per carry... was also team's short-yardage specialist.
Put up good numbers behind a mediocre offensive line
Which brings me to my point... NFL teams obviously don't do much research on players outside of the first 2 or 3 rounds. How in the world would you pass that guy up? If this wasn't Darren Evans' resume, do you know whose it would be? It would be Peyton Hillis' resume (but exchange ACL tear with compartment syndrome).
NFL scouts are a joke. End of rant.
