With the 2020 NFL season looming, New York Giants tight end Evan Engram faces a crucial year of his career.
Billy Brake questions whether the Georgian can put his injuries behind him and make good on his evident natural talent
Whichever club or team you support, every fan understands the frustration of a big name on the team sheet never quite managing to live up to what’s been expected of them, for whichever of the multitude of reasons – and Evan Engram is no different to rest.
The tight end arrived at the New York Giants following a strong college season at the prestigious University of Mississippi football programme. While at Ole Miss, he became the school’s all-time leader of receiving yards (2, 320), receptions (162), and touchdowns (15) for tight ends. He was the first player at the school to receive all-conference honours (Southeastern Conference) four times.
A tremendous senior year saw him eventually taken with the 23rd overall pick in the 2017 draft, joining Jerell Adams and the new signings of Rhett Ellison and Ryan O’Malley as the four tight end options for the Giants – Engram was then named starting tight end by coach Ben McAdoo for the 2017 season.
He started strong, his first touchdown in a second-week loss at the Detroit Lions and a season-high eight receptions for 87 yards in their week 15 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. In total, his rookie season ended with 64 receptions for 722 yards, six touchdowns among those in 15 games, 11 starts.
Interestingly, his rookie season was considerably better than George Kittle, who was the starting tight end for the San Fransisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV and taken 123 picks behind Engram in 2017.
After two MCL pulls, a sprained foot, bruised ribs, and concussions, Engram has had to contend with his fair share of damage in the NFL – his chance of injury is 5.5% per game and 59.9% for the 2020 season, according to Sports Injury Predictor.
Engram’s plight has meant he’s never played a full regiment of 16 regular season games, and the absence of a consistent tight end has been a trouble for the Giants for some time. But he’s shown just enough to let the Giants staff know he’s worth betting on, not least his two 100-yard games in 2019, against the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It’s worth quickly mentioning that the tight end is possibly one of the most under-appreciated positions across sports around the world. By that, I mean you never think of it as being essential to a good team in the same way you might view a scrum-half or an attacking midfielder.
But having a reliable tight end provides a dual threat for the offensive plays. Yes, recent trends have meant tight ends are generally more slender and athletic in their physique, similar to basketball players. But the size of a typical tight end provides an additional receiving threat of a different sort, another blocker on run plays, or another rusher in backfield.
For the upcoming season, whenever that may begin, the Giants have a roster stocked with tight ends, using the offseason to sign the undrafted pair of Rysen John and Kyle Markway, while also picking up Levine Toilolo from the 49ers.
So while Evan Engram still sits on a roster filling up with tight ends, the Giants hierarchy will undoubtedly be watching him, impatiently. And understandably so, given the side’s consistent lack of success over recent years. Now, they’re waiting for their gamble to pay off – which it very well could.
ESPN’s Fantasy Football Outlook predicted that the Georgia native will rank as the sixth-best tight end in the league this season, with plenty of weight behind their reasoning.
Firstly, Engram’s physical attributes have to be considered – a 4.42s 40-yard dash at 106kgs and 6 ft 3 make him a mismatch for most linebackers and safeties in midfield. Whether or not he’s retained the same speed after his injuries is doubtful, but he hardly appeared to slow down in 2019.
Despite missing eight games last year, he ranked sixth among tight ends for both receiving yards per game (58.38) and receptions per game (5.5), and was joint-second with Super Bowl-winning Travis Kelce for targets per game (8.5).
Whether it was down to an erstwhile lack of other receivers remains to be seen, but evidently Engram is still viewed as a viable option for the future of the New York Giants, Daniel Jones. And the arrival of Jason Garrett as offensive coordinator could be a godsend for Engram.
Garrett worked closely with the Cowboys’ start tight end Jason Witten during his lengthy tenure in Texas, and in that period Witten made the Pro Bowl eight times. Although unlikely Engram can provide the same quality as Witten, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if Garrett’s system, which favours tight ends, results in a strong season for Engram.
But he’s fighting for time at the MetLife, with his contract running out during the 2022 offseason. It seems a long time away now, but two years comes fast in the world of sport. There’s no doubt that 2020 could be a make-or-break season for Evan Engram, it just remains to be seen.
Feature image: Twitter – @NFL
Comments