GET HIM THE BALL!
Giants need to use Evan Engram more often, or think about trading the tight end
Jason Garrett told CBS’ broadcast team last Saturday that Evan Engram is the Giants’ “best playmaker on offense,” according to playby-play announcer Jim Nantz.
Yet Engram had just one catch for
16 yards on two targets, two rushes for nine yards, and a 3-yard rushing touchdown in last week’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
The only kind of offense that uses its “best playmaker” that rarely is a bad offense.
Joe Judge got Engram what would have been a second touchdown on a fake field goal pass if not for a penalty on the play.
But Engram is a forgotten man on this offense despite being its most physically gifted skill player. In particular, he’s not being used downfield even when he does get the ball.
And Engram’s own frustration showed in his Zoom interview with local media this week.
The Giants’ tight end was down, visibly fatigued from all the losing and being in a third offense in his four pro seasons. He implied that his routes this year were designed to get him open horizontally, not vertically — “trying to use my speed, get across the field.”
When asked about the high amount of short curl and stop routes he’s running, Engram agreed: “Definitely, that’s probably the most different aspect to my route tree this season.”
Engram, 26, has his flaws as a player. He’s not a good blocker. He has a couple drops already again this season. He committed offensive pass interference to negate a catch in Week 1 against the Steelers.
But there is no secret what Engram does well: he can outrun people, especially downfield.
And if Garrett can’t figure out how to use him, the Giants should know that the NFL trade deadline is Nov. 3. And there are plenty of coordinators who would be able to turn Engram overnight from an afterthought back into a dynamic weapon.
Engram’s average depth of target in Garrett’s offense is an absurdly short 4.48 yards downfield, per Pro Football Focus. That ranks 31st among NFL tight ends who have played at least 50% of their teams’ offensive snaps.
Engram, believe it or not, has the same amount of catches (18) as Baltimore’s Mark Andrews. But Andrews leads all NFL tight ends with a 13.28-yard average depth of target, and he therefore has 18 catches for 222 yards and five receiving TDs. Engram has 147 receiving yards and zero receiving touchdowns. The near-total absence of explosive plays in Garrett’s offense is directly connected to its misuse of Engram.
The Giants have just two rushes of 20 yards or longer, with a long of 26, after Saquon Barkley’s early struggles and season-ending injury. And they have just one pass completion longer than 40 yards: Darius Slayton’s 41-yard TD reception in Week 1. Slayton (foot) is now questionable for Sunday’s game, as well, coming off an 8-catch, 129-yard performance at Dallas. So that adds to the importance of employing Engram on deeper routes. “Just kind of really doing everything that’s in the game plan,” Engram said this week, seemingly resigned to his new role. “We work a lot of different things, try to get the ball going and try to get the pass game going. Pretty much just kind of doing what I’m asked and what I’m asked to do in the offense.” The Giants surely have tried their best to forget the 2017 season. But they would be wise to remember that after an 0-5 start under Ben McAdoo, Engram was their leading receiver in
their first win of the season as a rookie.
Roger Lewis and Tavarres King were the starting receivers that night in Denver, with Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard both out. Eli Manning threw for only 128 yards.
But Engram caught five passes on seven targets for 82 yards and a touchdown in a 23-10 win on Oct. 15, 2017.
Garrett, asked Thursday why he doesn’t involve Engram enough downfield, seemed to pin it on the run game and the offensive line. His implication that the run is required to set up the pass was maddening.
“The success you have running the ball, blocking them up front, protecting with your offensive line will impact all your skill players,” Garrett said. “I think Evan has done a good job taking advantage of some opportunities we’ve given him, and certainly we are trying to create more and more for him and for all our guys.”
It seems true that the Giants’ offensive line, still subpar in Dave Gettleman’s third season, is affecting how Garrett is calling plays. QB coach Jerry Schuplinski said recently that the Giants have been “putting a big emphasis on getting the ball out quickly” on offense, as well.
Still, there are plenty of teams that can’t protect their quarterback adequately that still manage to make explosive plays downfield (read: Justin Herbert and the Chargers).
The Giants picked up Engram’s fifth-year option at around $6 million for 2021, per overthecap.com. But he is now on his third coach in New York and it still hasn’t clicked.
The Giants know he has talent, but if this poor usage and the losing continue, it might be best for both parties to get a fresh start.
Engram’s name has been tossed around at the trade deadline before, and he is one of the few players on this roster who might bring back value if sold off this fall -- in a season in which he has stayed healthy, no less.
For now, though, Engram desperately needs a win. And for the Giants to get a win, Engram needs the ball.
“Definitely disappointed. Definitely pissed off,” Engram said of the Giants’ frustration about being 0-5. “We fought our butts off [at Dallas] and didn’t come up on the winning end. Yeah, we’re pissed off and we’re hungry. We’re going to get right back to work and try to go get one.