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Kickers and punters haven’t always been the hottest commodity in the NFL Draft, as most teams are content with using their picks to scoop up players at other positions and trying their luck on the free agent market once the event wraps up.
There are certainly exceptions, as the 49ers stunned plenty of people this year when they selected former Michigan kicker Jake Moody in the third round (although San Francisco GM John Lynch asserted other teams were angling to do the same while defending the fairly unconventional decision).
Moody was just one of the six kickers and punters who were claimed over the course of the 2023 NFL Draft, which saw a grand total of 259 players get their names called when everything was said and done.
Undrafted wide receiver Isaiah Winstead also got a chance with the 49ers after he posted a highlight reel that attracted plenty of attention online, and you have to wonder if Ethan Evans was able to help his own cause in a similar way with the video he uploaded to Instagram while the draft was still unfolding.
There’s a very good chance you’re not familiar with Evans when you consider the punter who was picked 223rd overall in the seventh round of the draft played college football at Wingate University, which competes at the DII level.
It’s safe to assume he was already on LA’s radar ahead of the event, but he also came to the attention of plenty of fans thanks to the clip he uploaded on Instagram after banging out a 770-pound deadlift accompanied by the hashtag reminding the world that “punters are people too.”
Evans uploaded that video on April 28th—one day before he was claimed by the Rams in the final round of the draft.
There’s no telling how the rookie will fare, but the team could certainly do much worse based on that video alone.