After the Giants selected Ole Miss tight end Evan Engram 23rd overall in the 2017 NFL draft many had high expectations, but he has yet to live up to them.
After coming off a senior season where he put up 65 catches for 926 yards and 6 TD’s it seemed like Engram was primed for success in the NFL. But so far, whether it be due to injury, or his own fault, that has not been the case. Sunday may have been rock bottom for the NY Giants Pro Bowler.
Where did things go wrong for Evan Engram? Where do the NY Giants go from here?
2017: Evan Engram’s NY Giants Rookie Season
Coming into his rookie season there was a lot of hype surrounding Evan Engram.
Sure, he couldn’t block, but his receiving skills seemed like they’d match perfectly alongside an offense that already featured Odell Beckham, a second year Sterling Shepard, and an aging Brandon Marshall. And to start his career, they did.
In his rookie year Evan Engram put up a very solid 64 catches for 722 yards 6 TD’s and 3 drops. Keep the drops in mind for later.
In this rookie season he had some incredible games, including a week 12 game against the Raiders where he caught 7 passes for 99 yards and a TD, and a week 6 game against the Broncos where he caught 5 passes for 82 yards and a TD.
All around Engram had a very solid rookie campaign and looked primed for a great career.
2018-2019: Injuries hit NY Giants TE Evan Engram
The next 2 years of Evan Engrams career came full of injuries. in those 2 seasons Evan Engram only played a total of 19 games.
In the 2018 season Evan Engram was playing decently through his first 3 games, totaling 10 receptions for 104 yards and a TD. But after taking a helmet to the knee in a week 3 matchup against the Texans, Engram was ruled out with a sprained MCL and would miss the next 3 games.
After coming back for the next 4 games, Engram put up a solid 13 receptions for 153 yards and 1 TD. He was then dealt another Injury when during a pre game warmup Engram said he felt his hamstring “pull” and would miss the next 2 games due to this.
To close the 2018 season out Engram had quite possibly the best stretch of games in his career. In the final 4 games of the season Engram tallied 22 receptions for 320 yards and 1 TD. It seemed like the sky was the limit for Engram after this.
After his elite stretch of games to close the season out in 2018 it seemed like 2019 was going to be a breakout year for the 25 year old tight end. With incoming rookie Daniel Jones it seemed like Engram could be getting an increase in targets. But, due to injuries this would not be the case with Engram only playing 8 games this season.
Engram was off to an absolutely fantastic start to the 2019 season where in the first 5 games Engram put up 33 receptions for 373 yards and 2 TD’s. But after a mild MCL sprain in his right knee, Engram was forced to miss a game against the Patriots. This injury seemed to slow Engram down, as in the next 3 games he played he put up a decent 11 catches for 94 yards and a TD.
Sadly, however Engrams 2019 season was cut short after a pedal foot sprain in his left foot after a week 9 matchup against the Cowboys.
2020: Evan Engram’s NY Giants Downfall?
Now, you’d think that coming into the 2020 season, playing a full season for the first time in his career, while having a young QB throwing to him that Evan Engram would surely finally have that breakout year, right? Well as we all know that’s not quite how things worked out.
In this tumultuous 2020 season, in 16 games Evan Engram tallied 63 catches for 654 yards and 1 TD. Not terrible on paper, but when you take a deeper dive into it you can see just how disastrous this season was for the young tight end.
In this season Evan Engram was at multiple times a burden for the Giants team. Coming in 2nd place in the league for most dropped passes with 11, while also having 6 interceptions thrown while he was being targeted.
What most Giants fans will remember from this season was the crucial drop in a week 7 matchup against the Eagles. in the 4th quarter, down 1 point with a little over 2 minutes left to go. Engram was sent on a deep route where he absolutely burnt his man in coverage, Daniel Jones threw a beautiful deep ball right into his hands. And with that Evan Engram turned what would most likely have been a game winning TD into a heart breaking drop.
Despite all the troubles Engram caused for the team this year, Evan Engram surprisingly made a Pro Bowl appearance, this was a shock to fans of not only the Giants, but fans of the NFL as a whole.
2021: What Now for NY Giants and Evan Engram?
After that horrific 2020 season it seems as if it could only go up for Engram.
Entering a contract year with weapons surrounding him it looked as if Engram may finally return to form. But during the preseason finale against the Patriots Engram would suffer a calf injury that would sideline him for the first 2 games of the season.
In his first game of the season against a bad Falcons defense Evan Engram played 56% of the offensive snaps and in that time he only managed to grab 2 receptions for 21 yards and managed to fumble the ball late in the 2nd quarter. Not a good start to the season at all.
While a good amount of Engram’s lack of success can be blamed on injuries that 2020 season was absolutely unacceptable. It was the only full season he played in his career and it was by far his worst
With Engram entering free agency this year I only hope for the betterment of the team that he begins to play better. Because if he does not I don’t see the Giant’s front office bringing him back.