NFL trade deadline: The perfect match for NY Giants’ Evan Engram?

NY Giants tight end Evan Engram might be a coveted player at the NFL trade deadline

The NY Giants and tight end Evan Engram might both benefit from a change of scenery.

Engram, who is in the midst of the slowest start to his career with just 26 catches for 223 yards and is yet to score a touchdown, doesn’t seem to be a fit in offensive coordinator Jason Garrett’s scheme. Garrett has mostly been using Engram on shallow curl routes or even handing it off to him, rather than pushing it deep to maximize his speed and explosiveness in the open field.

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However, as one current general manager tells GMenHQ, there will still be a market for Engram ahead of next week’s trade deadline.

“He can still run and is very athletic,” the GM told GMenHQ. “The question for buying teams becomes whether the team thinks they can develop his traits. Teams have to ask themselves if he’s a scheme fit, and if they have a need that they are willing to give up for a non-value position over the final eight games of the season.”

The GM says Engram’s trade value is probably a Day 3 pick in next April’s NFL Draft.

Pro Football Focus went one step further, and suggested what might be the ideal destination for Engram, if the Giants wind up moving him:

"The Indianapolis Colts and Frank Reich could unlock Engram’s potential and provide Philip Rivers with a big target he desperately needs. Indy has a ton of cap space and wants to surround its next quarterback with as much talent as possible. Furthermore, with the Colts’ offensive line being one of the best in the NFL, the team doesn’t need to leave Engram in to “block.”"

Engram could step in immediately as a weapon in the Colts’ passing game as a potential upgrade over Trey Burton, who has 11 receptions for 107 yards and one touchdown and complement to Jack Doyle who also has been off to a slow start with seven catches for 90 yards and a touchdown.

Reich has experience, as the former offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles, of funneling the passing game through an athletic pass-catching tight end such as Zach Ertz. It is easy to envision Reich throwing that chapter of his playbook open with Engram wreaking havoc in the AFC South where the COlts sit one game behind the Tennessee Titans for the division lead.

Matt Lombardo is the site expert for GMenHQ, and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday for FanSided. Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL.