Darrynton Evans, Appalachian State University
Darrynton Evans was taken at Pick 93 in Round 3 by the Tennessee Titans and was the tenth running back off the board. He spent three years at Appalachian State University where he ran for 1,480 yards on 255 carries (5.8 yards per carry) and caught 21 passes for 198 yards with 23 total touchdowns during his last year in college.
Athletic Profile
Film Analysis
Running: Darrynton Evans is a track star. My first exposure to him proved that as he took the ball 85 yards to the house against Charlotte. His speed is up there with the best running backs in this class. It seemed every time he saw daylight he was going for a huge gain, and sometimes the score. He is excellent getting to the outside on runs and is a terror for defenders to tackle in the open field. He runs low getting through and has above average change of direction quickness. With his speed, I thought I’d end up seeing a runner who is just trying to get to his top speed all the time, but he’s actually very polished for a small school running back. He runs with excellent patience, waiting for the hole to break open, shooting through it at the first chance. His blockers did a lot of the work for him, but his ability to plant and go at any moment has him tied for RB6 in my rankings, just below the stars of this class.
Receiving: He’s very good at sneaking out of the back field for screen plays and then reading the backs of his blockers in space too. With his speed, a screen play has the potential to go to the house every time. His other routes out of the backfield aren’t that sharp, His looks to catch the ball with his hands every time the quarterback threw it to him and he even made an excellent play picking an onside kick out of the air and taking it to the house. He has some work to do with his routes, but he’ll be able to be utilized as a receiver at the next level.
Pass Blocking: He does a good job putting his shoulder into defenders as they enter the backfield. He’s going to need to get used to bigger and faster defenders coming at him in the NFL which concerns me. His home-run ability will make coaches want to put him out there, but if he’s a liability in pass protection, we could be looking at another Ronald Jones.
Please enjoy this free preview of Factory Sports dynasty football content. If you are not already a Factory Sports member, you can sign up right here. For just $19.99 a year, you get all of our Dynasty, Redraft, IDP, Devy, and DFS content. Become a member today.
Landing Spot Reaction
The Titans had the fourth best run blocking offensive line last year. Despite losing guard Jack Conklin, they picked up his replacement Isaiah Wilson in the first round of the draft. Now in round three, they look to take the lightning to Derrick Henry’s thunder in Darrynton Evans. The Titans run the ball a lot. Henry had a whopping 303 carries last year with no suitable backup on the team. With Evans on the team and Henry currently franchise tagged, this year is an incredible opportunity for Evans to prove himself as an RB1 on an NFL team. He won’t have high touchdown upside this year, but in 2021 we could be looking at the starting running back of the Titans, another run-heavy, defense first team. Evans was my RB6 in this draft class and as much as I don’t like this landing spot in year one, I think he can still surprise a lot of people as the pass catching back. There’s also the chance that Henry holds out due to his franchise tag and if that happens, Evans’ value will immediately skyrocket.
As stated before, Derrick Henry is playing on a franchise tag this year after coming off a year where he had 303 carries. The NFL is getting away from paying running backs like Henry who don’t offer pass catching upside. Despite being the Titans main identity in 2019, I think this is the beginning of the end for Henry in a Titans uniform. If Henry plays under the tag this year, I expect the Titans to run him into the ground so he may have one more top ten fantasy year in him.
Dynasty Draft Projection
Despite being a D1 program, Appalachian State didn’t play very many tough football teams so his film needed to be taken with a grain of salt and every noticeably bad tape was penalized more than someone like Cam Akers. With that said, I think Evans is a cut below the star running back tier. Landing with the Titans just confirms his value in my eyes. He may not have the most value in year one, but he should immediately come in and grab the passing down work. He has three-down starter upside if Henry holds out or leaves after his franchise tag. He was going in round three of rookie drafts and sometimes round four, but this is a guy I will be targeting in the late second round or early of the third and is looking like my early rookie RB7 as of now. Don’t sleep on the small school player, this kid has big-time potential.
Draft Night-Where would I take him in a dynasty draft? Did he move in my rankings?Thanks for reading and stay tuned to Dynasty Football Factory for all your NFL Draft night coverage. Follow me on Twitter @DFF_JoeMem to join in on the draft conversation!
