2019 NFL Draft Guide Player Profile: Evan Engram

The New York Giants spent a first-round pick on Evan Engram in the 2017 NFL Draft, and he hasn’t disappointed. In his rookie season, Engram caught 64 passes on 115 targets for 722 yards and six touchdowns. A healthy Odell Beckham Jr. and lackluster offensive production ate into Engram’s numbers in 2018, as he played in just 11 games and caught 45 passes for 577 yards and three touchdowns. The story with Engram always was you want him on your fantasy team when Beckham Jr. isn’t in the mix. Well, here’s the opportunity, and fantasy owners should be excited.

Of the 577 yards he amasses in 2018, 320 of them, which is over 55 percent of his total yardage, came in the final four games of the season when Beckham Jr. was injured. Over the last four weeks of the season, here are Engram’s ranks amongst all tight ends with at least 12 targets in the National Football League.

Furthermore, over the last four weeks of the season, Engram’s 2.83 yards per route run, per Pro Football Focus, was second-best among tight ends with the aforementioned criteria. Outside of the last four weeks of the season, Engram’s yards per route run metric was just 1.27 yards, a steep drop off from his more productive final quarter of the season.

When the Giants traded OBJ to Cleveland, the only thing that could have been better for Engram was that Dave Gettlemen and company neglected to bring any offensive firepower to challenge the third-year tight end for targets in the offense. Other than future starter Daniel Jones, the Giants drafted Auburn wide receiver Darius Slay ton in the fifth round and signed Golden Tate to a deal. Saquon Barkley will be the lead dog in the running game, and will get plenty of work in the passing game as well. Tate will get some work, as will Sterling Shepard , but there’s no reason to believe that Engram shouldn’t finish the year with the second-most targets. Health willing, there is no chance that three other Giants receive more targets than him in 2019.

Tate and Shepard will play on the outside a good bit, but with both being more slot types, Engram may have his opportunities to line up outside a bit limited. Engram possesses good height and speed that could give defenses fits, but his opportunities out there may be not as frequent as fantasy owners would like. In 2018, he lined up in the slot or out wide a season-high 37 times in Week 2, per Pro Football Focus. Over the last four weeks, while he never lined up out there more than 25 times, his presence out there was more consistent than the first three-quarters of the season.

The departure of OBJ seems to not only give Engram a nice fantasy floor in 2019, but the upside is added as well. Last season, Engram saw the fourth-most targets inside the 20-yard line, trailing Beckham Jr, Shepard and Barkley. Beckham’s 20 targets in the red zone are up for grabs, and if Engram can maintain his efficiency from last season in the red zone, Engram has a chance to push for eight or m ore touchdowns this season. Engram only saw seven targets in the red zone last season, and he caught four of them, and all but one went for a touchdown. The third-year tight end has a knack for creating separation, and with the added volume he should see in 2019, assuming his effectiveness in the red zone sustains, he has a legitimate chance a top tight end this season.

Engram is currently being drafted just outside of the top five players at his position, but he could easily crack the top five by seasons end. In a PPR format, Engram is currently our TE6, but a few extra touchdown receptions and he’s a top four player at arguably the most volatile position in fantasy football. Sure, Engram doesn’t have the elite fantasy upside of Travis Kelce or Zach Ertz , but he has the opportunity to be in the tier below.

Engram’s production over the last four weeks of 2018 inspires confidence for the 2019 campaign.

Statistical Credits:
profootballfocus.com
pro-football-reference.com