Fresh off the draft board is the Giants’ Evan Engram, and he is looking to light up the NFL in 2017.
How can Evan Engram earn Rookie-of-the-Year credentials? Easy, catch tons of touchdown passes for the New York Giants.
According to Team Rankings, the New York Giants stood at 22nd in red zone production, scoring touchdowns 51.1 percent of the time in 2016. The number 1 ranked team (Tennessee Titans) averaged a touchdown 72 percent of the time. The Giants clearly need to bolster their red zone output, and Evan Engram may be the guy to provide support.
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Offseason additions will produce results
Eli Manning now has Brandon Marshall, Evan Engram and Rhett Ellison on the offensive front lines to help increase their touchdown success rate.
Taking some of the pressure off of Odell Beckham should be a by-product of utilizing their new additions.
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In 2016, teams would shut down a predictable Ben McAdoo led offense, simply by double teaming Beckham.
So, how do you get around that problem? You sign another number 1 receiver to complement OBJ.
Despite neglecting to address the offensive line in the draft, Jerry Reese decided to opt for Evan Engram, enabling a pass-happy offensive scheme.
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With Marshall and Beckham flanked on the outside, Engram will have full control of the middle of the field. Deep safeties simply won’t have the support to cover two of the games best wide outs over the top.
With a nicely timed button hook, Engram could be 20 yards down the middle of the field with linebackers left in his wake, and safeties biting on outside comeback routes.
Where will Engram shine?
New York Giants
This means one thing, touchdowns, and a lot of them. Engram will be heavily used in red zone packages and will be a disguise alongside blocking specialist Rhett Ellison.
The Ole Miss product has been known as a glorified wide receiver; lacking blocking capabilities and technique. He’s more or less a clone of Jordan Reed when he first entered the NFL.
New York Giants’ health and wellness coach Aaron Wellman, will surely be putting a few extra pounds on Engram to utilize his power and speed out of the gate.
The talent in this year’s draft is undeniable, and there are plenty of players that could outperform Engram for the accolade.
But, touchdowns equal points, and if Engram can lead the rookie class in touchdowns, you can bet your chips he will be strongly considered for Rookie-of-the-Year.