5 LA Rams 2nd-year sleepers will show up big in 2024, inc. OLB Nick Hampton

4- RB Zach Evans

Running back Zach Evans is another rookie selected by the team in the 2023 NFL Draft at a spot far lower than expected. Compared to RB Melvin Gordon, Evans had the production, body makeup, and athleticism to show up in a big way in the NFL. So why didn't he?

Well, that is a very complex question, and I will not be able to fit all of the tendrils and twists into a cohesive illustration to highlight what happened. But what it essentially came down to in the course of the team's 2023 training camp is that he was the backup for veteran running back Cam Akers, Ronnie Rivers was the backup for second-year running back Kyren Williams, and Royce Freeman was the big-bodied veteran running back for short yardage. When the season started, Akers was unhappy with his limited role, and was traded to the Minnesota Vikings for nothing.

The offense turned to Kyren Williams who responded immediately by gashing opposing defenses. When both Williams and Rivers fell to injury, the light amount of work in training camp left Zach Evans unprepared to assume the starting role. And so, the offense proceeded along without him.

In preseason, Evans carried the football 23 times for 77 yards. Not great, but not horrible. When the season began, Evans would only carry the football nine times for 19 yards. While the team no longer has Cam Akers or Royce Freeman ahead of him on the roster, the team did draft rookie RB Blake Corum and signed free agent RB Boston Scott. And that likely means Evans is no higher than fourth on the depth chart.

But the Rams roster is loaded with smallish running backs, and it's a long 17-game season. Can the team hope to keep every running back healthy for each game all season long? The front office certainly had concerns, leading the team to draft Blake Corum. Should the team face an injury to a running back, that could open the door for the young rusher Zach Evans to get another opportunity to play well.

In 2024, he will do exactly that.

Standing 5-foot-11 and weighing 211 pounds, Evans is the biggest bodied rusher on the team. And I think that will create just enough of a difference so that if he does have a chance to get some carries, he could do quite well.

Of course, he will need a break to get carries. And when he gets the chance to play, he will need to play well. But he's had one NFL season under his belt on the bench. He won't let a chance to grow his role on this team pass him by in 2024.