Fantasy Spotlight: Can Evan Engram Ever Reach His Potential?

Evan Engram has been among the most frustrating players to own for two years running, and his ADP is reflecting that. Engram is currently the No. 11 TE off the board, and he’s going 89th overall. Talent-wise, he is superior to most of the players going ahead of him, but the facts on the ground are he’s made it through fewer than 12 games in back to back seasons, and caught fewer than 50 passes in both campaigns. So is it worth it to continue betting on his big talent?

Engram is viewed as a game-breaker at a position where that’s rare, but that’s based solely on his ability to make defenders miss.

He averaged just 6.9 yards per target last season, and 10.6 yards per reception, neither of which makes him look like a week-winning player. Engram scored only three touchdowns in each of the last two seasons as well, a low number for a position where touchdowns often make or break a player’s season. The number is certainly depressed by his limited time on the field, but that’s the main reason we’re seeing his ADP plummet.

Are we ready for the positives? Engram saw 8.5 targets per game, the most of his career and third among all tight ends. His 58.4 yards per game were also a career-high, and sixth at the position. From Week 3 through Week 9, Engram saw seven or more targets six times. Of those games, however, he topped 54 yards just once, and plopped in a one-reception, six-yard dud vs. the Cardinals, who were among the NFL’s worst defenses against tight ends. So Engram really puts fantasy owners in a quandary. On one hand, he is a major plus in fantasy’s most valuable commodity – opportunity. On the other hand, he mostly did little with that opportunity, turning in low yardage on short targets and not proving to be a major threat in the red zone. And while he is supremely talented, injuries year after year can erode that explosiveness which would render him basically useless.

Another mark against Engram is his one-dimensional nature. He’s a threat as a pass-catcher, yes, but he’s one of the NFL’s worst blockers at the position per PFF, grading out at 50.4 as a run blocker and ranking fourth among Giants tight ends. He graded out at 67.8 as a receiver, which is a solid mark but not the elite grade you’d want from him when it comprises his entire value.

At the end of the day, Engram is a player who hasn’t stayed healthy at any point in his first three NFL seasons, is one-dimensional and whose one dimension might be overrated. To compensate for that, we’d have to bank on big improvement from second-year QB Daniel Jones, and hope that his target share remains elite even if his talent doesn’t measure up to the top guys at the position. Tight end is viewed as an ugly position, but it’s deceptively deep in 2020. If Engram were still being treated as an upper tier TE I’d be down on him, but seeing as his ADP has dropped to back-end TE1, I think the target share gives him value despite all the negatives. Do not cross him off your board by any means, but make sure you aren’t reaching.