It's uncommon for a tight end to be viewed as the missing piece to a championship puzzle, but
Evan Engram is the dynamic offensive weapon the
New York Giants have desperately needed to make another run at a Lombardi Trophy.
Now, I know it sounds crazy to expect a first-year pass catcher to shoulder a huge burden on an offense that features a two-time
Super Bowl MVP in
Eli Manning, one of the most electric playmakers in football in
Odell Beckham Jr. and a perennial
Pro Bowl "chain mover" in
Brandon Marshall, but the
Giants need their rookie tight end to play like a stud to help the team's stars take their respective games up a notch.
Let me explain.
Every NFL defensive coordinator slated to face the Giants this season will make a concerted effort to neutralize Manning and his top targets. This will ultimately result in double coverage directed toward Beckham, with a few bracket tactics also thrown in Marshall's direction at times. Considering the sterling résumés and impact potential Beckham and Marshall have shown throughout their respective careers, opposing defensive coordinators will attempt to force Manning to depend on his complementary playmakers to move the ball down the field.
"You want to make the quarterback play 'left-handed,' " said a former NFL defensive coordinator. "Ideally, you want to make him lean on his second and third options instead of his primary weapons in the passing game. If he can win with the 'others' making enough plays to beat you, you tip your cap and move on."
With most defensive coaches subscribing to similar theories, the
Giants needed their complementary players to emerge as legitimate threats in 2017. Last season,
Sterling Shepard snagged 65 passes for 683 yards (10.5 avg.) and eight scores as the
Giants' WR2, but teams didn't view him as a dangerous playmaking threat, as evidenced by the lack of double or breacket coverage he faced as a rookie. Now, that doesn't mean opponents didn't respect his talent or game, but they didn't think enough of his big-play potential to map out a plan that completely removed the young pass catcher from the mix.
The same could be said for the tight ends on the
Giants' roster one season ago.
Will Tye, Jerrell Adams and
Larry Donnell combined for just 79 receptions, 609 receiving yards and three scores as the team's "Y" (traditional tight end) targets. Those numbers hardly register a blip on the danger radar, and they're certainly not robust enough to make defensive coordinators overhaul their game plans to better defend the middle of the field. With the
Giants' passing game built on quick-rhythm passes designed to attack between the numbers, the lack of production from the tight ends resulted in Manning forcing too many throws to a heavily guarded Beckham.
Looking at Manning's subpar performance in 2016, it is not a coincidence the 36-year-old quarterback only averaged 6.73 yards per attempt, which ranked 25th in the NFL. Despite the presence of Beckham, the
Giants' dink-and-dunk scheme didn't deliver many big plays or produce a lot of points due to a lack of playmakers between the hashes. Sure, Shepard was solid in the slot, but the team didn't get enough "explosive" plays from its tight ends and lacked a dominant red-zone threat on the outside. While Marshall's arrival should add some spice to the lineup as a big-bodied pass catcher with a knack for putting the ball in the paint (82 TD receptions in 11 seasons), the team desperately needed to find an electric playmaker to make splash plays over the middle.
That's why I believe Engram is the missing piece to the
Giants' offensive puzzle. The 6-foot-3, 234-pound tight end is an athletic freak with 4.42 speed and a 36-inch vertical jump. He enters the NFL after putting the finishing touches on an impressive résumé at Ole Miss as the Rebels' all-time leader in receptions (162), receiving yards (2,320) and TD catches (15) by a tight end. The two-time team captain, who finished with 42 career starts, is a polished tight end with all of the tools to be an impact player in his first season.
"The thing that is really intriguing about Evan is the speed component," Giants offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan recently said during rookie minicamp. "This is a legitimate vertical threat, but he's not just a receiver. ... There is a versatility that he has that we're hoping can create some problems for the defense from a matchup standpoint because of his speed, and because of the way he runs his routes like a wide receiver."
Studying the tape, I was convinced Engram was the most polished route runner of the 2017 tight end class. He exhibits outstanding timing, patience and body control at the top of his routes to create separation from defenders in tight coverage. Engram has a feel for finding voids in coverage but is also crafty enough to win consistently against linebackers and safeties in man-to-man. Given his spectacular combination of size, speed, athleticism and route-running ability, Engram is a "new-school" tight end capable of aligning anywhere on the field, from out wide to in the slot or in a more traditional hand-in-the-dirt position.
Interestingly, the Giants have attempted to downplay Engram's potential as a "big" receiver, but reports out of rookie minicamp suggest the rookie pass catcher is slated to have a big role as a "move" tight end in the team's offense. In the Giants' version of the West Coast offense, Engram will learn the Y and U (flex tight end) positions before mastering other roles. However, the multiplicity of the scheme allows the team to place the Y or U in a number of slot or out-wide positions depending personnel groupings.
For instance, the U lines up opposite the Y or as a wing on the same side. He can also align in the slot or out wide based on the call. Thus, the Giants can position Engram as a receiver by simply calling a designated formation that places him in a displaced position. Considering how each of the Giants' receivers is expected to know multiple positions, the team has the potential to make Engram a Jordan Reed-like playmaker by shuffling the deck with players at different spots on any given play.
For a team that prefers to throw the ball all over the yard (63:37 pass-run ratio in 2016), the Giantsneed their young tight end to eventually command enough respect so defensive coordinators can't double team Beckham (and Marshall) on most downs. If Engram emerges as the Giants' deep-middle threat, he could push them over the top in the NFC East.