Scouting Report: Mike Evans

In St. Louis wide receivers have recently become a letdown. There hasn't been a receiver to finish the season with 700 receiving yards on the Rams since 2008. 700 yards really isn't that big of a number. So obviously people have been talking about upgrading the receiver corp for the Rams, and giving quarterback Sam Bradford a receiver he can throw to.

Enter Mike Evans, the young Texas A&M stud at receiver. With his size and his good play in the SEC what's there not to like? Well let's take a look at Evans:

Positives

He's a physical specimen

Can make a highlight play

Physical receiver

Should win a good amount of jump balls

Does a good job of boxing out corners

Deceptive speed; not break away speed, but can move with the ball in his hands

Can get Y-A-C and has ball carrier vision with the ball in his hands

Good at freelancing and getting open when QB in trouble

Real good receiver for slants

Doesn't drop many passes

Negatives

More of a get in your way blocker, but there are times when he pancakes guys

Not a good route runner

Uses his arms to push away at times so he could get some pass interference calls

Probably will have trouble with sideline grabs

Doesn't catch the ball at it's highest point consistently, but he's talker than anyone on the defense so he can still come down with it.

Small catching radius

Can you depend on him to win up top like he did in college?

Limited route tree: Go, comeback/curl, slants

The videos

Thoughts on Evans

Evans should be a good player for a team day one. I question if he will get open deep in the NFL if a corner doesn't miss a press on him, but he should be a good possession receiver when he touches the field. He was better than I thought, but I wish he extended more for the ball and I doubt he will make amazing sideline catches. He'll have to make his living catching mostly contested balls, but if he can do that he could grow into a top receiver in the league.

Would Evan's fit the Rams?

If the Rams give up on the Brian Quick experiment, then it would make perfect sense to draft Evans. Although Quick and Evans play a little different, they are more alike than general manager Les Snead would like in his receivers. Evans would have more of an impact on a team where he is opposite of a star receiver. I also think that he would provide extra incentive for a team with a mobile QB; he's big and can comeback to the QB when he's in trouble. So no, I don't think he would be a fit for St. Louis.