Ironic problems that LA Rams 'superhero' rookie punter Ethan Evans creates

While the LA Rams 2023 rookie draft class has been expected to deliver Day 1 starters all over the Rams roster, we know that the historic success rate for rookies in the NFL is not going to support those lofty expectations. At best, these Rams rookies will almost certainly struggle through the learning curve that confronts every young arrival. Well, all except punter Ethan Evans.

In the grand scheme of things, perhaps a world-class punter is not the first checked off the shopping list for a future NFL Championship team. But the Rams have been there before, and the performance of former Rams punter Johnny Hekker certainly made a lasting impression on the team and the fans.

So why not try to get lighting to strike twice?

Ethan Evans does 'superhero type stuff' with the football

The only special team specialist drafted by the LA Rams was Wingate punter Ethan Evans. Somehow, that seems quite appropriate for the Rams overall strategy for the 2023 NFL season. Not only was Ethan Evans head and shoulders above other punters from the 2023 draft class, but his impact will not suddenly propel the Rams into the discussion for the NFL Playoffs by itself.

And so, the Rams can have their cake and eat it too, so to speak. You see, he is a piece to what may very well be an NFL Championship-caliber Rams roster. But to trigger that championship effect, the Rams will need to do some work to build a coverage team that can keep up with him.

Ironic problems Rams 'superhero' rookie Ethan Evans creates

1. Does Ethan Evans leave the Rams coverage team hanging?
2. Ethan Evans? You got some 'splaining to do
3. Superboy today, superman tomorrow
4. Give it time, young grasshopper

Does Ethan Evans leave the Rams coverage team hanging?

So some of the drawbacks cited over the Rams rookie punter Ethan Evans is hang time. In short, the longer the amount of time that the ball arcs in the air, the better off the coverage unit will be in terms of not allowing long punt returns. Ideally, the best punts end in a fair catch or the ball rolling out of bounds as close to the opponents goal line as possible.

While Ethan Evans has a cannon for a leg, his hang time is not quite as top-tiered as his gross punting average. It is that disconnect that has some folks tapping the brakes on oohing and ahhing over Evans so far:

But what is a good hang time in the NFL for punters?

What is the mark of a great NFL punter?

For that answer, I turned to Rookieroad.com and an article entitled Football Hang Time for the answers. In the article, we discover that the average NFL punter's hang time (the time that the football is in the air) is 4.4 seconds, but that the best punters in the NFL strive for a hang time of 5.0 seconds or better.

For the Rams, it may simply be a matter of taking time. After all, let's not ignore the fact that rookie punter Ethan Evans has just arrived to the NFL and is only 22 years old. Like any rookie, his mark in suiting what the LA Rams need from him should not be a fixed image. Rather, he will develop over time.

While only a small data set, I have been impressed with both punter Evans and LA Rams Special Teams Coordinator Chase Blackburn. And my thoughts are that Evans needs to establish distance first, which he most certainly has done. Next comes the pinpoint accuracy of those coffin kicks, punts that pin the opponent deep in their own territory.

FInally, he will need to master a 5.0+ second hang time. That will take the most time, which is why I have listed it last.

In 2022, Rams veteran punter Riley Dixon averaged 48.4 yards per punt, tying him for 10th-place among NFL punters. But his net yards per punt only came in at 40.8 yards per punt, which dropped him all the way to 22nd place in the NFL.

Ethan Evans? You got some 'splaining to do

So how does Ethan Evans compare in two preseason games so far? Well, for that answer, we'd best visualize how Evans punting has gone with a data table. So lets draw one up and take a look:

Opponents may not be as fearful of the Rams punter as you may wish to believe. In two games, Rams opponents have returned eight punts for a total of 181 yards and a touchdown. That average out to 22.6 yards per punt return, which is an alarmingly effective return game.

To place this all into even better perspective, Ethan Evans is punting the football at a phenomenal pace of 53.54 yards per punt. But his net punting average is a modest 39.6 yards per punt. If compared to last year's statistics, He would be ranked first overall in terms of gross punt yards per punt, but nosedive down to dead last in terms of net yards per punt.

The irony is that it's the net yards per punt that NFL coaches focus on. So yes, Ethan Evans, it looks like you've got some 'splaining to do.

Superboy today, superman tomorrow

But let's shed this doomsday scenario right now, okay? As stated in the first slide of this article, the presence of rookie punter Ethan Evans allows the LA Rams to have their cake and eat it too. So what do I mean but that oxymoron?

Not exactly. The most difficult function of any NFL punter is getting distance. Right now, Ethan Evans has shown the ability to kick a tennis ball to the moon if he so chose. And it's that raw power that makes him capable of 'superhero type stuff,' when he is punting the football:

But what good is that if opposing teams average 20+ yards per punt return?

Give it time, young grasshopper

An NFL roster takes time to develop and evolve. And that is especially true for the LA Rams roster, a team that has leaned far more heavily into rookes and new faces than NFL teams have done in a very long time. So what is the 'right,' amount of time to wait for a rookie punter to evolve into an NFL Pro Bowler? Let's look at some examples:

The Kansas City Chiefs posses the best of the NFL right now in the form of punter Tommy Townsend. The 6-foot-1 191-pound punter out of the University of Florida is entering his fourth NFL season, and in 2022 he averaged 50.4 gross yards per punt, and 45. 6 net yards per punt, which led the NFL in net yards per punt for 2022. But his rookie season, he averaged just 45.0 gross yards per punt, and 40.4 net yards per punt. That was 2020, just three NFL seasons before.

Ray Guy was the guy

Need more proof? Let's set the way back machine to 1973 through 1986. Why then? Well, to examine the career of the NFL's gold standard of punting, former Raiders punter Ray Guy. Ray Guy was so incredibly adept at punting the football that he was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2014. Guy landed in the NFL and immediately became a household name.

In his rookie season, he punted the football for an average of 45.3 gross yards per punt, and a net 38.8 yards per punt. But Ray Guy's superpower was how effectively he punted that football inside the opponent's 20-yard line. Over the course of his NFL career, he averaged 20 percent of his punts inside the 20. What about touchbacks? He averaged just 15.9 percent of his punts landing in the end zone.

Let's make this more intimate. What about LA Rams All-Pro punter Johnny Hekker?

How about Hekker?

When Hekker first arrived in the NFL in 2012, he averaged 45.8 gross yards per punt, but only 39.9 net yards per punt. But the very next year, Hekker's gross yards per punt increased slightly to 46.3 yards per punt, but his net yards per punt skyrocketed to an incredible 44.2 yards per punt, setting him up for his first NFL All-Pro honor.

Over the course of his career (he is still punting for the Carolina Panthers), Hekker has averaged just 5.3 percent of his punts as touchbacks, but a whopping 40.7 percent of his punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line.

Ethan Evans has just arrived to the NFL. But even the greatest NFL legends need time to percolate, develop, and evolve into who they will eventually become. Ethan Evans possesses all of the characteristics to become one of the best NFL punters of his time.

But that will take time. Are LA Rams fans so focused on instant gratification that waiting for nature to take its course is out of the question? I certainly hope not. Ethan Evans appears to be the real deal. After all, you just can't fake a powerful leg like that. In the meantime, this is going to be a long and entertaining journey. So get comfortable, and enjoy the ride.