Engram improves blocking in training camp
EAST RUTHERFORD » There was a moment during 11on-11 on the fourth day of Giants training camp when Evan Engram lined up in the slot and glanced at Eli Manning. The future Hall of Fame quarterback pointed toward him, snapped the ball from shotgun and fired a dart to Engram, who cut to the outside, turned to his right shoulder and hauled in the pass from the flat.
Engram, the 23rd overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft, maneuvered around a screen, evaded a trio of defenders and burst up the sideline until an official whistled the play dead.
Giants fans will likely be seeing much more of the Manning-Engram connection this fall.
“We’re definitely building chemistry,” Engram said Sunday. “Just eating lunch with him and talking to him and making corrections on the field, and just getting to know him and being comfortable around each other. I’ve got to be where he wants me to be, and I’ve got to fix a lot of things. And he helps me with a lot of stuff, too. It’s definitely a growing relationship, and I’m just trying to learn as much as I can from him and be the best guy on offense to help him out.”
Engram said the way the Giants are moving him around the slot, the backfield and the outside is similar to the way Ole Miss utilized his versatility. Engram lined up in the slot 52 percent of his snaps during his senior season, per Pro Football Focus. Manuevering in space is where the speedy 6-foot-3, 236-pound tight end thrives as a pass catcher.
But for Engram to truly rejuvenate the Giants’ offense, which head coach Ben McAdoo wants to be more multiple this season, he’ll need to prove capable of playing physical in-line. He will need to occasionally block defensive ends from a three-point stance, part of what Engram describes as being a “Swiss Army knife” in New York’s system.
“That’s the biggest curve I’m on right now,” Engram said. “I’m comfortable putting my face in there, but it’s a lot of technique stuff that I’m trying to get down and working on. It’s something I embrace. It’s something that I know I can get down. It’s just a lot of technique, a lot small things that go into being successful at it.”
Engram, who ran the fastest 40-yard dash among tight ends at this year’s NFL Combine (4.42) and was known as a subpar blocker in college, has said he rarely played with his hand on the ground at Ole Miss. He also has had to unlearn certain releases on routes from college, and specific blocking techniques have been taught completely opposite by Giants tight end coach Kevin Gilbride.
Engram said he has been more involved in protection and the run game since the Giants opened camp on Thursday compared to Organized Team Activites and minicamp in June.
“I can’t express it enough: Technique is everything at this level,” Engram said. “There’s a lot of different stuff I had to kind of shake off, whole habits I’m trying to get out of, definitely.”
The other part of his improvement as a blocker, Engram says, is simply being able to rep and master technique more than in college.
“I’ve gotten a little stronger, put a little bit more weight on, learning some techniques that helps me in the trenches,” Engram said. “So definitely I feel like I’ve improved a lot, and I’m excited to get the pads on.”
McAdoo said Sunday that the Giants’ tight end unit, which was decimated by injuries last season, is “vastly improved” and “very competitive.”
Engram is competing with a mix of hybrid veterans and young players including Rhett Ellison, Will Tye, Jerell Adams, Matt LaCosse and undrafted rookie Colin Thompson. There is speculation the Giants, who were in 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end) a leaguehigh 92 percent of the time last year, will use more twotight end sets this season.
The rookie Engram is also being pushed by veteran 6-foot-4 receiver Brandon Marshall, whom he says he wants to mold his receiving game after. And of course Manning, who also graduated from Mississippi — just 13 years earlier.
“It’s been a dream of mine to come into the NFL, but to be here with these great vets and all these great weapons and this great defense and this great organization, it’s a blessing and it’s something I’m definitely going to take advantage of,” Engram said. “It’s really exciting, and it’s really cool to be around these guys and it’s a blessing to learn from them and be able to go compete with them.”
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Jadar Johnson, who was competing for a spot at safety, has decided to retire. All 89 other players on the roster attended Sunday’s practice, which lasted approximately two hours and three minutes at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center.
“I wish the man nothing but the best,” McAdoo said. “He’s a young man that has a bright future ahead of him.”
Running back Shane Vereen left practice following an 11-on-11 period. McAdoo said Vereen (sore lower body) could’ve reentered, but the team played it safe.
The Giants have off Monday and will return to practice Tuesday with shoulder pads as they move closer to wearing full pads later this week.
“When you put the pads on, the intensity goes to a different level,” McAdoo said. “So we’re going to be smart about how long we’re on the field — that’s the first thing. We’re going to make sure we teach the fundamentals the right way before we just roll the ball out there and start hitting on each other. So it’s about the fundamental part of the game, and learning how to fit your pads in because you play so much without your pads in the game today.”