NFL DRAFT 1987 : Rams Pull Another Surprise Out of Hat
Last season, the Rams gambled on their first two draft choices and broke even.
Their first-round pick, a little-known tackle from Canada named Mike Schad, remains little known.
But second-round choice Tom Newberry, the pride of tiny Wisconsin LaCrosse, worked his way into a starting guard spot and then onto the all-rookie team.
The Rams took that same spirit of flair and adventure into Tuesday’s NFL draft, taking with their first pick in the second round a rough-around-the-edges defensive end named Donald Evans, from Winston-Salem State in North Carolina.
Though small schools with hyphens don’t always produce great players, the Rams say they got just what they were looking for in Evans: a fast and quick outside pass rusher who is expected to crash the lineup immediately.
“I intend to start him right away,” Coach John Robinson said. “He’s going to learn this game on the run.”
Evans, 6-1 and 260 pounds, was the 18th player selected in the second round, the 47th player chosen overall. The Rams did not have a first-round pick.
What the Rams also got was quite a story.
For Evans, the youngest of 16 children, Tuesday will long be remembered as a day of emotional twists and turns.
He received word of his being drafted by the Rams not long before leaving for Rex Hospital in Raleigh, N.C., where his mother was scheduled to have her right foot amputated because of gangrene.
The 65-year-old Novella Evans suffered a heart attack six weeks ago and is also afflicted with high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney and liver ailments.
“I felt excited when I got drafted, but then I got back down to reality,” Evans said by phone from the Winston-Salem campus. “My mother’s health is bad.”
Evans said the money he earns in professional football will go a long way in supporting his family. Evans’ father died the year after Donald was born. He has six brothers and nine sisters. His oldest sister is 51.
“I’ve been standing in poverty ever since I was a baby,” Evans said. “I’m going to do some good things for her, repay her some love.”
Evans has not yet chosen an agent to represent him and it may be awhile before he does.
“When I was out in L.A. recently I read about the Kareem thing,” Evans said, referring to the financial woes of Laker center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. “I want to wait and pick a real good agent. So many agents are ripping people off. I’m real funny about that.”
The gamble for the Rams in taking Evans is that he lacks experience, is not yet a good player against the run, and played at a Division II school.
But his natural skill, speed and versatility were enough for Robinson to take a chance. Before moving to defensive end as a junior in college, Evans played fullback, halfback, tight end and inside linebacker.
Robinson said that Evans was a player the team wanted all along, though some other favorites dropped out just before the Rams selected in the second round.
In fact, the five teams that selected before the Rams all took linebackers, two of which the Rams had been interested.
The New York Jets, picking five spots before the Rams, took Cincinnati linebacker Alex Gordon.
Miami followed by taking Wisconsin linebacker Rick Graf, another player Robinson liked.
“If Gordon and Graf were still there, it would have been a tough decision,” Robinson said, meaning he might not have taken Evans.
There was also some question as to whether the Rams would draft USC cornerback Louis Brock Jr., who was available when it came turn for the Rams to pick.
Robinson did waver a bit and concluded that Brock, son of the former major league baseball star, would have been “a steal.”
The bottom line, though, was need. The Rams’ starting cornerbacks, LeRoy Irvin and Jerry Gray, both made the Pro Bowl last season.
Robinson figured that Evans could make an immediate impact on a defensive line that isn’t as strong.
Evans wasn’t as sure.
“I figured maybe I’d go in the fourth round,” he said. “I was kind of surprised. But when Robinson called, I was happy.”
The Rams took note of Evans at an NFL scouting combine in New Orleans last February.
The Rams worked him out again about two weeks ago at Rams Park.
Robinson likes the potential gains. Evans, though he has added more than 60 pounds to his frame since his freshman year in college, still runs a 4.58 in the 40-yard dash.
With the addition of Evans, the Rams are thinking seriously about moving outside linebacker Kevin Greene to the line of scrimmage, with end Gary Jeter moving to an inside line position in pass situations.
There was some talk about the Rams possibly packaging disgruntled tailback Barry Redden in a draft-day deal, but it never came about.
Robinson said that the team continues to shop Redden around the league. Redden, though he became a starter last season, has asked again to be traded.
The only dealing the Rams did on Tuesday was with draft choices. They sent their second third-round pick to Cleveland for the Browns’ choices in the 4th, 5th and 12th rounds.
Other Ram picks:
Third round--Clifford Hicks, 5-9 and 188, cornerback, Oregon. Because of ankle injuries, Hicks started only eight games for Oregon last season and had only two interceptions. He did, though, average 13.6 yards as a punt returner.
Fourth round--Doug Bartlett, 6-2 and 250, outside linebacker, Northern Illinois. If Bartlett doesn’t work out at linebacker, he may make the team as a special teams player.
Fourth round (from Cleveland)--Larry Kelm, 6-4 and 226, inside linebacker, Texas A&M.;
Fifth round (from Cleveland)--Scott Mersereau, 6-4 and 275, defensive tackle, Southern Connecticut.
Sixth round--Jon Embree, 6-2 and 230, tight end, Colorado.
Eighth round--Michael Stewart, defensive back, Fresno State.
Ninth round--Tracy Ham, running back, Georgia Southern.
10th round--David Smith, linebacker, Northern Arizona.
12th round--Alonzo Williams, running back, Mesa College; Fred Stokes, defensive end, Georgia Southern.
