New York Giants Awards: Who’s Big Blue’s MVP, ROY, DROY?
By Henry Buggy
New York Giants Rookie of the Year – TE Evan Engram
Unlike Tomlinson, Engram’s numbers look to make him a shoe-in for the team’s Rookie of the Year award. But stats, such as tackles, receptions, yards, and touchdowns, don’t always tell the whole story.
Tomlinson not only has a case to be Defensive Rookie of the Year but the team’s Rookie of the Year in general. Pro Football Focus has Big Blue’s rookie defensive tackle graded almost a full 40 points ahead of Engram and listed New York’s rookie tight end as the 71st player at his position out of 74 graded tight ends.
Despite the poor grades from Pro Football Focus and Engram’s 11 dropped passes on the season, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound tight end should still be considered the team’s Rookie of the Year.
Engram is just one catch shy of tying Sterling Shepard for the third most receptions (65) for a rookie in franchise history. He has already surpassed Bob Tucker for the most touchdown receptions for a rookie tight end (6).
While the 23-year-old playmaker out of Ole Miss was surely not New York’s biggest need this offseason, Engram has stepped up following the injuries of Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall. He leads Big Blue’s offense in catches (64), touchdowns, and has posted a team-high 11 receptions of 20-yards or more.
Engram trails only Rob Gronkowski, Travis Kelce, Zach Ertz, and Delanie Walker in terms of receiving yards for a tight end in 2017. Some will argue that Engram doesn’t deserve to be the team’s Rookie of the Year due to dropped passes and poor blocking.
But at the same time, that shouldn’t negate his impressive rookie numbers, which have already earned him a place in New York’s history books.