Are the New York Giants done with tight end Evan Engram? After five years of injuries, dropped passes and general inconsistency one would think so. But then again, there’s a new power structure in place and what is old just might be new again.
Engram will be a free agent in two weeks and his market is heating up. He might — and we stress might — be willing to give the Giants a hometown discount if they are interested.
#Giants and free agent Evan Engram have not closed the door on a return, source says, even as Engram’s versatility builds his market and #nyg look to shed salaries https://t.co/5lIb5ViUFc
— Ryan Dunleavy (@rydunleavy) March 4, 2022
Teams are seeing Engram as a Swiss Army knife-type player and would use him in a variety of roles.
From Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post:
Some teams are preparing to make free-agent pitches to the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Engram that include featuring him as a big-bodied slot receiver, sources informed of the tight-end market told The Post at the NFL combine. The hybrid strategy was theorized throughout Engram’s five seasons with the Giants but never truly enacted because he always was the top option at tight end and because he is determined to live up to the blocking aspects of the job.
More and more offenses are moving away from position-defined players. If receiver Deebo Samuel can have 10 carries in a game, if tight end Travis Kelce can run or throw as a red-zone quarterback, if running back Alvin Kamara can line up at receiver, and if Cordarrelle Patterson can change positions from receiving to running back at age 30, then why not experiment further?
The Giants tried to make Engram more a wide receiver in 2021 (he lined up out wide or in the slot on 61 percent of his snaps) but their offense was such a mess no one really noticed. This year, with Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka in town, things are going to change.
In the end, the cap-strapped Giants could be on the outside looking in on signing Engram , and if they do, it could be a hard sell to the fans who have pretty much written him off as a bust.
