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Round 6 Pick 2/2: Chris Evans, RB, Michigan


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  • 2 weeks later...

More from Morrison's piece post-practice:

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Handy man


Evans impressed the Bengals coaches at the Senior Bowl with his hands and route running out of the backfield, and that was on vivid display Friday at PBS.

“Chris’ trait that is different than a lot of other running backs in the league is his ability to catch the ball, and he’s a very natural route runner out of the backfield,” Taylor said. “He can split out. That’s one of the things that really jumped out to us at the Senior Bowl, just how dominant he was in those one-on-ones. How natural and easy it looked for him. Today you probably saw us moving him around a little bit to get a better feel for him in person. He did a nice job. He seems like he’s smart. He understands it. He can retain information. It makes sense to him and then he went out there and made some nice catches.”

Evans looked smooth and sure-handed throughout the practice despite being moved all over the place.

“In high school, when I was a freshman playing quarterback and then converted to a slot (receiver), playing slot pretty much my whole career until my senior year, the coaching that I got in high school about coaching the ball with your hands,” he said. “The only time that they wanted to catch the ball with our body is if it’s at our body or if it’s in the rain or something to secure it. That was one big key thing I learned when I was young. Catch with your eyes first and then catch with your hands.”

When the Bengals drafted Evans, he mentioned they had a move at Michigan they called the Mixon, named after Bengals running back Joe Mixon.

Asked about it again Friday after practice, Evans was trying again to describe it before he asked if it was OK he stood up at the podium. In the first standing demonstration in Bengals Zoom history, Evans played show and tell.

 

 

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Bengals RB Chris Evans is a fun dark horse I can give you from this weekend. Just the fourth(!) Michigan running back draft since 2000, Evans had a very weird college career. His first three years (2016 to ’18), he was a versatile scatback for the Wolverines, rushing for 1,722 yards and averaging 5.6 yards per carry, with 40 catches and 16 touchdowns from scrimmage. Then, academic issues cost him the 2019 season, and he struggled to find his footing in a new offense during last year’s COVID-wracked season. So can he be the guy he was in his first three years in Ann Arbor? The Bengals, having just lost Gio Bernard (a back with a similar skill set), bet a sixth-round pick he can be. And he gave his new coaches reason to believe the last couple days, showing that he’s a smooth athlete with excellent hands, and fits athletically on an NFL field. There’s a long way to go (remember, pass-blocking will be a big part of playing the role Bernard did), but early on he looks like a guy the Bengals should be able to move all around the formation.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/05/17/mmqb-meet-nick-sirianni-eagles-offseason-tim-tebow-daily-cover

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