Getty Evan Engram of the New York Giants.
No one is quite sure what the long-term future entails for New York Giants tight end Evan Engram. The team picked up his 5th-year option earlier this summer, which should theoretically keep him in New York through 2021. Yet, that hasn’t stopped his name from continuously being brought up in trade speculation.
However, in terms of Engram’s short-term future with the Giants, Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr believes he has a solid understanding of how things will play out for the tight end. More specifically, he envisions a scenario where the matchup nightmare stakes claim to his first career Pro Bowl berth in 2020.
Orr’s high-hopes for Engram recently landed him on SI’s list of 10 Potential 1st-time Pro Bowlers:
An infusion of two minds that value the tight end position significantly, Joe Judge and Jason Garrett, could be a major boon for Engram. He has been on torrid stretches before in his career and still might be one of the more athletically unique players in the conference. Extending his 2019 numbers out to a full season shows a player who does not drop a ton of passes (three in half a season) and gets a decent amount of yardage after the catch. Last year, Engram seemed to be settling into a role where he was comfortable catching more medium-range passes as opposed to mostly intermediate range balls.
As Orr notes, the additions of Joe Judge and Jason Garrett to Big Blue’s coaching staff cannot be understated. Both coaches come over to New York following extended stints with teams that prominently featured tight ends in their passing game, a philosophy that is likely to carry over to their new home in East Rutherford.
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Evan Engram Gearing Up for Career Season?
Entering his 4th-NFL season, Engram certainly carries his fair share of question marks, namely injury concerns. However, when healthy and available, you could probably count on one hand the number of tight ends in football that you’d rather have over Engram.
Engram only appeared in eight games a season ago before a foot injury ended his 2019 campaign. Yet, while healthy, he once again showed glimpses of what makes him such a tantalizing talent. Engram recorded 113+ receiving yards and a touchdown in two of his first three games. Plus, despite missing half the season, he still finished 15th in receiving yards among all NFL tight ends with 467.
That type of production is the reason why outlets such as Pro Football Focus hold such lofty expectations for Engram. PFF projects Engram to finish within the top-10 at his position in targets (98.9), receptions (72.1) and yards (712) for the 2020 season. Each of those numbers would prove to be career highs for the tight end and likely lead to a Pro Bowl berth, just as Orr predicted.