EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The words and phrases used to describe new New York Giants tight end Evan Engram included "versatile," "smart," "great speed," "dynamic weapon" and "tremendous football player."
Sounds like the kind of guy who can help an offense that scored the seventh-fewest points in the NFL last season.
Engram, 22, was the Giants’ choice with the 23rd pick in Thursday night's first round of the NFL draft. He’s a gazelle in the tight end family, having run the 40-yard dash in 4.42 seconds at the scouting combine. He had a time faster than all but three wide receivers. It opened eyes and imaginations: There was a tight end who creates mismatches and exploits tight-hipped safeties and linebackers.
This is what Engram brings to the table for the Giants. He’s not their usual 250-plus-pound plodding tight end. He’s what general manager Jerry Reese said they like to call “wide, wide type receivers; end-of-the-line guys.”
Engram isn’t going to be asked often to play lined up hip-to-hip with an offensive tackle, his hand on the ground and his responsibility to drive block defensive ends in the running game. That’s not what he’s here for, and not what he’s best at doing.
The Ole Miss product is on the Giants to spread defenses out with his receiving ability.
That should be a big boost to the offense, which admittedly struggled against Cover 2 defenses (two deep safeties) last season. Teams were able to play off the line of scrimmage because of the Giants' lack of a running game and keep their safeties attentive to Odell Beckham Jr.’s every step. Now, with Engram running down the middle of the field and keeping the safeties occupied, it should open things up for Beckham and others, especially if the Giants can flash some semblance of a running game.
Reese called Engram a “matchup nightmare for teams trying to cover him with linebackers and safeties.” The confident Engram saw it that way in college, and his impression is that it will be much of the same in the NFL.
“I just get excited when I see those guys trying to man me up,” Engram said on a conference call with reporters after he was drafted. “I do feel like I am a mismatch problem, and I guess I am a huge plus for an offensive coordinator to have.”
Engram vs. linebackers and safeties, and maybe even slower, bigger cornerbacks. Those are the matchups that coach Ben McAdoo will be trying to exploit with Engram on his roster. In order to do that, expect to see the Giants’ newest tight end all over the field.
“He played multiple positions at Ole Miss,” McAdoo said. “I think we can bring him up and move him around a little bit.”
So the Giants coaches have a new toy. It’s now on them to figure out how to use it most efficiently and effectively in their scheme.
That shouldn’t be a problem. As one NFL scout said of Engram after the selection: “Cool player. Swiss Army knife type. ... [Giants] head coach can use him to create mismatches in passing game. He will move around a lot in motion.”
That is what the Giants seem to envision. “We see him as a guy that can line up anywhere at any of the receiver positions -- tight end, in the slot, outside. He can line up anywhere,” Reese said.
Considering what the Giants had at the tight end position last year -- Will Tye, Larry Donnell and Jerell Adams -- this will add a new dynamic. That group averaged 7.7 yards per catch last season, the fewest in the NFL among tight end combos by almost a full yard. Engram averaged 14.2 yards per catch last season for the Rebels.
He’s the new-age tight end who is more receiver than blocker, which seems just fine to the Giants. They signed Rhett Ellison this offseason to handle a majority of the blocking.
It's Engram's 4.42 speed that should really catch the attention of opposing defensive coordinators.
“He was fast, but nobody expects the guy to run 4.42 at that size,” vice president of player evaluation Marc Ross said of his reaction to Engram’s sprint at the combine. “You just never would’ve thought that. You think the guy would run a 4.5, 4.6 or something like that, but for a guy to jump out there and run a 4.42, it was shocking. It didn’t push him up on the board any more, it didn’t change the perspective -- the reports were in with what he could do with his skill set, and that just added another positive value to his profile.”
The drafting of Engram adds another aspect to the Giants offense, in a way that is somewhat comparable to what Jordan Reed brings to the Washington Redskins. Reed is a Pro Bowl tight end known for his pass-catching ability. The Redskins use him primarily in the slot and outside to try to create mismatches.
The Giants didn’t have that option last season. With their first-round pick on board, it appears they now do.
“We are just trying to help the offense any way we can and help our team any way we can,” Reese said. “So [adding an offensive weapon] is important for us, just to get a good football player, and we think that we got a tremendous football player.”
One who should be an immediate asset on offense.