There are a number of challenges that rookies face on the road to stardom. In fact, the majority will never make it. Relatively speaking, at least.
One such rookie wading through the trials and tribulations of this path is Arizona Outlaws wide receiver, Dustin Evans. Selected with the 16th overall pick of the season two draft, he was considered a steal in many analyst's opinions, and perhaps he was, however, until this point right now, as we leave week nine behind us and near the season's end, he has performed okay, nothing more, nothing less.
As Evans acclimates to the faster, stronger competition of the NSFL, its clear to see where he's struggling the most. While his routes are crisp, he has a hard time getting separation, in turn we're seeing an uncharacteristic number of dropped passes where his hands were his strong suit in college.
The last couple weeks we've seen him and fellow Outlaws Rookie, Charles Chess running agility drills during and after practice to help them achieve that unique separation ability you see in receiving elites like Garden and Phelps.
In fact, NSFL Insider caught up with one of the General Managers of the Arizona Outlaws, C.A. Chess to ask him a few questions about the progress he's seen out of himself, Evans, how he feels about the future of the Outlaws receiving corps and more:
NSFLI: First and foremost, let’s start with the basic question: how do you feel about Evans on-field development thus far in the season?
Chess: Truthfully, and I’m not just saying this, we are thrilled with the progress Evans has made so far. As a player on draft night you could just tell that he was one of those rare types of players that was going to make something of himself regardless of where he was drafted. As a fellow wideout I was a bit worried when the Outlaws took him, as I was worried there wouldn’t be a spot for me on the team, but obviously I think we’ve proven that worry to be false. As a General Manager, you’ve got to love the work ethic he’s put in -- it’s always a big risk that a rookie will show up and not put in the effort to reach his potential, but with Evans that’s never been the case. A lot of people don’t realize he could be a #1 WR on a lot of teams in this league, but he’s maximized his production out of the #2 role. That’s a testament to his character.
NSFLI: Excellent, and how do you feel about his off-the-field contributions?
Chess: Man, he’s one of those guys that makes the team better. It’s really that simple. He may not be the most vocal guy in the locker room all of the time, but when he speaks people listen. He’s a real leader, such a leader that even the NSFL head office wanted him making decisions for the league as a whole. It’s been great getting to know him, it’s kind of odd calling a fellow rookie as a “mentor” to some of the players in the locker room but he really is. He gets in there, gets his work done, and is a wonderful tactician.
NSFLI: Going forward how do you see the wide receiver corps of the Outlaws changing?
Chess: Well, I saw someone had our WR corps ranked 7 of 8 teams the other day and I couldn’t help but laugh a little bit. I mean I get it, none of us three are going to set the statsheet on fire but we really have an embarrassment of riches at this point. Obviously, as a GM, I can’t talk too much about what I see as the future plans for specific players… But to put it bluntly : Evans is a guy we want around for a long time.
NSFLI: Has there ever been a sense of rivalry between you and Evans? After all, you were both drafted the same year in the same position…
Chess: No, not really. I mean in the sense where he pushes me to want to be better, then I suppose. From the moment we both got drafted I think we both accepted our roles, and that’s been huge for our position’s chemistry. I’ve been happy to watch him grow, and I know he’s happy for me as well. He’s one of those guys you just like playing across the field from you. I will say, we were opposing team captains in practice just the other day and my team whupped his pretty good. But that’s all in jest, at the end of the day the Outlaws are a cohesive, selfless unit. You hear a lot about the WR being a “diva position” and there are obviously a couple of those in the NSFL, but luckily not on our team.
Going to the numbers we can evaluate Evans progress on a quantitative scale for a more in depth analytic perspective.
After his first eight NSFL games, Evans has hauled in a total of thirty two receptions for a total of three hundred eighty eight yards and two touchdowns.
Like I mentioned, it's not a particularly eye popping stat line, but that's not to say he hasn't positively impacted the Outlaws offense this year either. In fact, these numbers place him as the sixteenth rated receiver among the NSFL. Slightly more impressive, this comparison comes after the Outlaws week nine bye, whereas six other teams played this week, so it's possible we'll see him eclipse the top fifteen by season's end.
For every light, there seems to be a bit of fog, in this case. There are multiple questions among the Outlaws offense this year. Most widely discussed would be the efficacy of quarterback King Bronko. While Arizona seems intent on slinging the ball while they've got the league's best running back, he's had his fair share of interceptions falling behind only Josh Bercovici.
I think that responsibility for this falls not in any one person's hands, but multiple. The offensive line is strong on Bronko's blind side and at center, however, elsewhere it's being crushed as he's seen his fair share of hurries and sacks this season. Unfortunately, Bronko has caught a massive amount of blame for this when Evans should be catching more of the blame than he is. Between the drops and his failure to give Bronko space to place the ball, he's been forced to hold onto it too long or release into tight coverage too often.
It's apparent that Evans has had his share of success thus far, and the future is looking bright alongside Mayran Jackson, and Charles Chess, but he'll have to continue to clear hurdles on his way to the top.
Word count: 1123
GRADED
One such rookie wading through the trials and tribulations of this path is Arizona Outlaws wide receiver, Dustin Evans. Selected with the 16th overall pick of the season two draft, he was considered a steal in many analyst's opinions, and perhaps he was, however, until this point right now, as we leave week nine behind us and near the season's end, he has performed okay, nothing more, nothing less.
As Evans acclimates to the faster, stronger competition of the NSFL, its clear to see where he's struggling the most. While his routes are crisp, he has a hard time getting separation, in turn we're seeing an uncharacteristic number of dropped passes where his hands were his strong suit in college.
The last couple weeks we've seen him and fellow Outlaws Rookie, Charles Chess running agility drills during and after practice to help them achieve that unique separation ability you see in receiving elites like Garden and Phelps.
In fact, NSFL Insider caught up with one of the General Managers of the Arizona Outlaws, C.A. Chess to ask him a few questions about the progress he's seen out of himself, Evans, how he feels about the future of the Outlaws receiving corps and more:
NSFLI: First and foremost, let’s start with the basic question: how do you feel about Evans on-field development thus far in the season?
Chess: Truthfully, and I’m not just saying this, we are thrilled with the progress Evans has made so far. As a player on draft night you could just tell that he was one of those rare types of players that was going to make something of himself regardless of where he was drafted. As a fellow wideout I was a bit worried when the Outlaws took him, as I was worried there wouldn’t be a spot for me on the team, but obviously I think we’ve proven that worry to be false. As a General Manager, you’ve got to love the work ethic he’s put in -- it’s always a big risk that a rookie will show up and not put in the effort to reach his potential, but with Evans that’s never been the case. A lot of people don’t realize he could be a #1 WR on a lot of teams in this league, but he’s maximized his production out of the #2 role. That’s a testament to his character.
NSFLI: Excellent, and how do you feel about his off-the-field contributions?
Chess: Man, he’s one of those guys that makes the team better. It’s really that simple. He may not be the most vocal guy in the locker room all of the time, but when he speaks people listen. He’s a real leader, such a leader that even the NSFL head office wanted him making decisions for the league as a whole. It’s been great getting to know him, it’s kind of odd calling a fellow rookie as a “mentor” to some of the players in the locker room but he really is. He gets in there, gets his work done, and is a wonderful tactician.
NSFLI: Going forward how do you see the wide receiver corps of the Outlaws changing?
Chess: Well, I saw someone had our WR corps ranked 7 of 8 teams the other day and I couldn’t help but laugh a little bit. I mean I get it, none of us three are going to set the statsheet on fire but we really have an embarrassment of riches at this point. Obviously, as a GM, I can’t talk too much about what I see as the future plans for specific players… But to put it bluntly : Evans is a guy we want around for a long time.
NSFLI: Has there ever been a sense of rivalry between you and Evans? After all, you were both drafted the same year in the same position…
Chess: No, not really. I mean in the sense where he pushes me to want to be better, then I suppose. From the moment we both got drafted I think we both accepted our roles, and that’s been huge for our position’s chemistry. I’ve been happy to watch him grow, and I know he’s happy for me as well. He’s one of those guys you just like playing across the field from you. I will say, we were opposing team captains in practice just the other day and my team whupped his pretty good. But that’s all in jest, at the end of the day the Outlaws are a cohesive, selfless unit. You hear a lot about the WR being a “diva position” and there are obviously a couple of those in the NSFL, but luckily not on our team.
Going to the numbers we can evaluate Evans progress on a quantitative scale for a more in depth analytic perspective.
After his first eight NSFL games, Evans has hauled in a total of thirty two receptions for a total of three hundred eighty eight yards and two touchdowns.
Like I mentioned, it's not a particularly eye popping stat line, but that's not to say he hasn't positively impacted the Outlaws offense this year either. In fact, these numbers place him as the sixteenth rated receiver among the NSFL. Slightly more impressive, this comparison comes after the Outlaws week nine bye, whereas six other teams played this week, so it's possible we'll see him eclipse the top fifteen by season's end.
For every light, there seems to be a bit of fog, in this case. There are multiple questions among the Outlaws offense this year. Most widely discussed would be the efficacy of quarterback King Bronko. While Arizona seems intent on slinging the ball while they've got the league's best running back, he's had his fair share of interceptions falling behind only Josh Bercovici.
I think that responsibility for this falls not in any one person's hands, but multiple. The offensive line is strong on Bronko's blind side and at center, however, elsewhere it's being crushed as he's seen his fair share of hurries and sacks this season. Unfortunately, Bronko has caught a massive amount of blame for this when Evans should be catching more of the blame than he is. Between the drops and his failure to give Bronko space to place the ball, he's been forced to hold onto it too long or release into tight coverage too often.
It's apparent that Evans has had his share of success thus far, and the future is looking bright alongside Mayran Jackson, and Charles Chess, but he'll have to continue to clear hurdles on his way to the top.
Word count: 1123
GRADED