By what metric is NY Giants’ Evan Engram a Pro Bowler?
The Giants Putrid Passing Game
While it’s not a prerequisite for a player to be on a good team in order to make the Pro Bowl, it’s hard to fathom how anyone on the Giants offense, especially those involved in the passing game, should get the honor.
The Giants are the 31st ranked offense, ahead of only the lowly one-win NY Jets in total yards and yards per game, and points and points per game. They have accumulated 4,189 yards, and average 299.9 per game. They’ve scored just 244 points, and average only 17.4 per game.
Their passing game is equally poor. They’re 29th in the league for total passing yards — 2,600 — and passing yards per game — 1,589.
Engram leads the Giants in multiple receiving metrics. He’s first on the team in targets (95) and receptions (54). He has only one touchdown, 572 receiving yards, and averages 41 yards per game.
Even if Engram scores a touchdown in each of the next two games, he’ll only tie his previous two season totals. His three touchdowns in 2018 came in 11 games played, while his three in 2019 came in just eight games played.
It is not as though this year is a stand-out year for Engram. Though he is slightly up in yards and receptions from last year, in which he missed half a season, he is down in most metrics across the board.
His yards per reception matches last year’s total of 10.6. If it remains, it will be back-to-back years of career lows. His receptions per game of 3.9 is the lowest of his career. So is his yards per game. His six yards per target are also the lowest of his career.
Engram has been targeted 95 times, closing in on his rookie season numbers, when it appeared that the sky was the limit for the tight end out of Mississippi. But despite being targeted nearly 100 times, he only has a catch percentage of 56.8%. If that percentage stays below 64 after the next two games, this will mark the third consecutive year Engram’s catch percentage has dropped.
Engram has scored a rushing touchdown this season, the first in his young career. But he only has 21 yards rushing, giving him 593 scrimmage yards this season. His career high in scrimmage yards is 736.
Drops continue to be the biggest problem with Engram, as any NY Giants fan could tell you and as anyone watching Sunday Night Football recently witnessed. Engram has nine drops this year, triple the amount of last year. He has a 9.5 drop percentage for all passes thrown his way. And perhaps worst of all, Giants QBs have thrown five interceptions when targeting Engram.
The passer rating when targeting Engram is abysmal, just 56.1%. Pro Football Reference’s numbers only go back to 2018 in this category for Engram, but let those numbers paint a picture: that number was 113.9% in 2018, and then down to 99.3% in 2019.
So, Engram is the best receiver on one of the worst passing offenses in the NFL. He’s played more games than he has in the past two seasons, and he’s up big in targets, and up slightly in receptions and yards. But none of the improvements have helped improve the Giants’ passing game.
Perhaps his level of play is at or near those of the other TEs selected.