Cowboys: Why new LB Rashaan Evans could play a lot vs. Rams
The Dallas Cowboys have announced they're elevating LB Rashaan Evans and TE Eric Saubert to the gameday roster ahead of their Week 8 showdown against the Los Angeles Rams. Evans will be a player to monitor closely, as the recently-signed free agent was brought in to bolster the team's depth at linebacker following Leighton Vander […]
The Dallas Cowboys have announced they're elevating LB Rashaan Evans and TE Eric Saubert to the gameday roster ahead of their Week 8 showdown against the Los Angeles Rams.
Evans will be a player to monitor closely, as the recently-signed free agent was brought in to bolster the team's depth at linebacker following Leighton Vander Esch's injury. He'll be making his Cowboys debut against a Rams team that puts significant stress on opposing linebackers.
How much he plays remains to be seen. Damone Clark and Markquese Bell have become the starters in Vander Esch's absence. Clark played in 99% of the snaps against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 6. Bell was limited to 53%. Safety Jayron Kearse, who plays a hybrid role that includes plenty of time in the box, had a 75% snap count.
How much will Cowboys LB Rashaan Evans play?
I believe fans should be expecting Evans to have a significant amount of playing time on Sunday. And that's not only because the team could use the rotation, by the way.
The thing is that while it's true the Rams are a team that loves to live in an 11-personnel world (3 wide receivers), that doesn't necessarily mean the Cowboys will be in nickel defense (5 defensive backs, often three cornerbacks) all game long.
The reason why is Rams WR Ben Skowronek. While he's a WR, he's got the body of a fullback, leaving defenses with an interesting choice of how to match him. Last week, the Pittsburgh Steelers treated him as a FB/TE, playing base defense when the Rams took the field in 11 personnel with Skowronek in there. That's how T.J. Watt was playing slot cornerback when he picked off Matthew Stafford last weekend.
To stop the Rams, the Cowboys will need fresh legs in the second level, too. Playing Clark for 99% of the snaps again is a recipe to allow big plays. I'd expect anything between 30% and 45% of playing time for the new veteran linebacker.
It's also true that he has experience against McVay's eye-candy offense, something that could become an issue for the young, inexperienced players the Cowboys have above Evans.
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