New York Giants: Ben McAdoo Addresses Plans for First Round Pick Evan Engram
Ben McAdoo, New York Giants head coach, was confident and encouraging when addressing Evan Engram’s role in the offense this upcoming season.
There is a lot to like about New York Giants first-round pick, tight end Evan Engram.
"When initially asked about Engram, McAdoo stated, “Length, speed, play maker, special teams contributor, we are excited to get him into the mix and hit the ground running with him.”"
The Ole Miss product has been compared to Washington Redskins tight end Jordan Reed. They both acquire an innate ability to make tough catches and open up the field for their respective quarterbacks.
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Similar to Engram, Reed was considered undersized entering the NFL and was forced to put on a few pounds to compete as a blocker.
"McAdoo was confident their first-round pick would develop his blocking skills stating, “He’s a willing striker, and we need to refine his fundamentals.”"
Engram has also been compared to Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ receiver Mike Evans.
Evans is a decent perimeter blocker when called upon in the running game, which compares nicely with Engram’s abilities.
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Although, blocking is not his specialty, he simply wasn’t drafted for that reason anyway.
Quarterback Eli Manning struggled last season to find open receivers due to a lack of quality tight ends. Will Tye didn’t have the speed to create chances for the aging quarterback, and Larry Donnell was a fumble waiting to happen.
The Old Days
Manning has proven to have success, when he has a capable tight end running routes.
Flashback to the days of Jeremy Shockey, Jake Ballard and Kevin Boss. All had great catch radius’ and delivered under pressure.
In other terms, Eli needs a capable security blanket since he becomes wildly inaccurate when under pressure.
Overall, the draft choice aligns well with the offensive needs. The addition of Rhett Ellison will prove to be well worth the money as well.
In two tight end sets the offense will be able to open up the playbook and take advantage of cover schemes. The creativity is sky-high for Ben McAdoo.
I’m looking forward to seeing what mismatches Engram can exploit with Ellison on the field.