Getty Evan Engram, No. 88 of the New York Giants, catches a pass for a touchdown in front of Jabrill Peppers, No. 21, during the Blue and White scrimmage at MetLife Stadium.
While Sterling Shepard has moonlighted as the New York Giants’ top wideout in recent years, tight end Evan Engram has become arguably the favorite target of quarterback Daniel Jones. In 2020, the former first-round pick led the team in targets (109) and finished within the top-three of all Giants in both receptions (63) and receiving yards (654). The latter two numbers each ranked within the top-three at his position in the NFC, leading to Engram’s first-ever Pro Bowl berth.
Problem is, as most Giants fans know, the Ole Miss product doesn’t come without his flaws. From his abundance of drops to, at times, non-existence in the red zone, as well as his injury history, Engram has left much to be desired since arriving in East Rutherford. Yet, due to the lackluster offensive weaponry around him in recent years, the Giants had no choice but to take the good with the bad when it came to the tight end. However, that may no longer be the case.
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B/R Trade Proposal Ships Engram to Buffalo
The Giants have done wonders reworking their receiving group this offseason. Not only did the team lure top free-agent Kenny Golladay to New York, but they also used their first-round pick on the yards-after-catch maven Kadarius Toney and took a flyer on former top-10 pick John Ross. On top of that, the team added one of the more sure-handed and well-rounded tight ends in all of football, in ex-Minnesota Viking Kyle Rudolph. With the slew of additions to the receiving corps, Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski believes it’s time for the Giants to unload Engram, calling on the organization to ship him to the tight end-needy Buffalo Bills prior to the start of the 2021 regular season:
The New York Giants have something in Engram. They’re just not sure what. Engram is a gifted athlete capable of making big plays. He’s also inconsistent, highly inefficient and a free agent after this season. Engram shouldn’t be placed in a position where he leads the team with more than 100 targets, as he did a year ago.
He almost certainly won’t with Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney on the roster. In fact, the Giants should take things one step further and build around their new wide receiver corps. Golladay, Toney, Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard can be highly effective. Besides, New York signed veteran Kyle Rudolph to be a more reliable option at tight end.
If the Bills don’t eventually make a move for the Philadelphia Eagles’ Zach Ertz, the Giants can outmaneuver their rival by dealing Engram to Buffalo.
Will Engram Be on the Move?
While moving off of Engram in the final year of his contract may make sense from a long-term perspective, the likelihood that the team actually does so is slim-to-none. Despite his flaws, Engram remains one of the league’s better mismatches at his position. Not to mention Golladay’s hamstring issue and Rudolph’s off-season surgery leave more question marks in the receiving corps than the Giants are likely comfortable with.
Engram is beloved by the coaching staff, with head coach Joe Judge being one of his more vocal backers. The 26-year-old’s stellar performance thus far in training camp has likely only strengthened their already positive outlook on the much-maligned tight end.
“I definitely prepared a lot for this camp, I’d say that. Just having a mindset, just attacking each day, each play, each rep was definitely my motivation coming in, so I’m not going to think back on last year or anything,” Engram told reporters. “I’m just really focused on performing to my best ability in this camp for sure.”
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