One of the toughest parts of building a dynasty roster is to not only find, but have success in stashing future talent. Javian Hawkins and Chris Evans are two players you should target for your taxi squad.
Recently I wrote an article you can find here that is the start of a small series titled Dynasty Stash. In the first article, I touched on stashing Vikings wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Browns wide receiver Anthony Schwartz. Today we will address the running back position and highlight Chris Evans and Javian Hawkins.
Javian Hawkins- Atlanta Falcons
The 5-foot-8, 183 pound Hawkins was undrafted and landed with the Atlanta Falcons after the draft. In 2019, Hawkins set the single-season rushing record for the Louisville Cardinals with 1,529 yards. Before he opted out in 2020 after seven games, he averaged 100 yards a game.
When watching some of Hawkins’ games it is hard to believe he went undrafted. Hawkins can run both inside and outside and good luck catching him once he gets downfield.
Javian Hawkins has over 1500 rushing yards in his freshman year, second among returning ACC backs.
He had at least one rush over 20 yards in every game except one and at least one rush over 40 yards in 6/13 games. pic.twitter.com/4aEKtA4vgh
— Dan Siegel (ACC Content) (@ACContent__) August 31, 2020
The Competition
Javian Hawkins will enter training camp with a shot to win the backup running back role immediately. Qadree Ollison, Tony Brooks-James, Cordarrelle Patterson, and fellow undrafted back Caleb Huntley will be fighting for carries throughout camp and into the season.
Hawkins has the chance to be the drumettes to Mike Davis' thighs... I mean, the lightning to Mike Davis’ thunder. Each team Patterson has been with had plans to use him more in the backfield but failed to do so. Qadree Ollison carried the ball one-time last season for three yards.
Hawkins has as good of a chance as any other running back to have the RB2 spot and could even challenge Mike Davis for carries. Despite the addition of Kyle Pitts, the loss of Julio Jones leaves a big hole in the Falcon’s offense. It remains to be seen how the Falcons distribute the ball this season. There is a good chance the Falcons will run the ball more this season if they can manage to stay close in games.
Chris Evans- Cincinnati Bengals
Chris Evans was drafted in the sixth round this year by the Cincinnati Bengals out of the University of Michigan. Evans played in 42 games and finished with 1,795 yards and 15 touchdowns. Evans averaged 5.6 yards a carry from 2016-2018 at Michigan but did not play in 2019 due to academic issues. Along with the strangeness of last year’s Covid season, Evans' true draft potential may not have been capped off.
2021 NFL Draft Evaluating Michigan RB Chris Evans https://t.co/4haZwBjLeR via @YouTube
Evans is a player to watch for in the 2021 NFL Draft.
🏈Possesses🏈
✅Three down ability
✅Can run between the tackles
✅Good vision, speed and burst
✅He is a good receiver#NFLDraft #nfl pic.twitter.com/zPs5wwt0ev— Football Scout 365™️ (@DraftDay365) March 20, 2021
The Bengals backfield is as crowded as any behind Joe Mixon, even after the departure of Giovani Bernard. Evans will fight for carries with Samaje Perine, Pooka Williams, and Trayveon Williams. The Bengals obviously see something in Evans to spend draft capital on him, despite their depth at the position already. One positive in Evans' favor is that he is a well-balanced running back with the ability to do all things out of the backfield.
Chris Evans, the back, may not have starred as Captain America or come even close to Captain America’s pro day numbers, but he will get a shot at winning the backup running back spot in Cincinnati. The Bengals will be looking for any productive running back help they can get behind Joe Mixon to keep him healthy as the season moves along.
Get Them While You Can
The cost of acquiring Hawkins or Evans is next to nothing. The July Rookie ADP of Hawkins is 70 for rookie drafts and he currently is ranked as the 12th running back. Evans has an ADP of 80 and is ranked as the 16th running back. You can find these rankings and our Rookie Offensive ADP feature here.
My recommendation is to acquire one of these guys before training camp starts and the position battles heat up. We all know the hype that comes with rookies and their position battles.
Thank you for reading! You can find me on Twitter @ClintonHolmgren and @IDPGuys. Check out all of my IDP, Devy, and Offensive work at idpguys.org. Be sure to order our rookie draft magazines, which we load with fantastic player profiles and landing spot analysis.
