Square Peg, Round Hole: The Evan Engram Problem?
By Adam Uribes
· Player News
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· 2 min read
Based on what we saw on Monday Night Football versus the Bengals, there may need to be some serious brake-pumping over what role his role can realistically look like for the rest of the season
Putting pen to paper, the free-agent signing of Evan Engram seemed to be shoe dropping on a problem that has puzzled the Broncos since the days of…Noah Fant? Seriously, outside of the glory days of Shannon Sharpe and those great teams, who jumps off the brain as the last great Broncos tight end? Julius Thomas had a great three-year run. Owen Daniels was solid but hardly even Pro Bowl-level. After those two, its been a hodgepodge of promising talent or retread veteran retreads at the end of the offensive line for the Broncos for some time.
Four games into a so-so 2-2 start and all the optimism about the Engram signing has morphed into concern and bemusement. The veteran tight end, who did catch over 100 balls not that long ago, looks more awkward third wheel then complement weapon to triggerman, Bo Nix. From his time with Jaguars, Engram has done much to rehab the perception that he was uber-talented, but inconsistent and injury-prone. To the detriment of the Broncos, all those old ghosts have come back to haunt Engram.
The better question at this point in the season is this; can Engram be salvaged and integrated into the offense? Based on what we saw on Monday Night Football versus the Bengals, there may need to be some serious brake-pumping over what role his role can realistically look like for the rest of the season.
Consider Engram the player. Engram is more rock upped wideout than traditional in-line blocker. Think more Shannon Sharpe than Dwayne Carswell. What limits the amount of snaps that Engram can realistically be on the field for is limited IF the offense is more focused on running the ball. Tight End/Full Back Nate Adkins and tight end Adam Trautman and serviceable enough as catchers that they can play in those run sets, so that limits when you can get Engram on the field. Yes, play-action is a great way to get the ball to your tight end, its also predicated on defenses being able to believe you’re a competent enough blocker to warrant being out there to being with. That hasn’t been the case with Engram.
Injuries are another worrisome factor in the equation. No doubt, when Engram is healthy, he is athletic and dynamic after the catch. More often than not, he has some kind of nagging ailment. That 100 catch season was nice, injuries basically wiped out half his season last year and he’s already missed one game this year with a back injury that popped up from practicing. This was after a calf injury hobbled him after the opener versus the Titans and a training camp that saw the team limit him to just one series in the last preseason game. Mike Shannahan had a saying “you can’t help the club from the tub” and Engram is putting out those unhelpful vibes as the year marches on.
The real pisser in the equations is that Denver has similar styled players that may be eating into Engram’s usage as well. Marvin Mims Jr. looks miscast as an outside receiver opposite Cortland Sutton. From watching the game on Monday, getting him out on the perimeter and letting him use his athleticism and speed seemed to caffeinate his game. Troy Franklin, drops asides, has made real strides as the 3rd wideout. As mentioned earlier, Adkins, Trautman, hell even Lucas Krull are better blocking options than Engram. Throw all those things in a bowl, mix them together and you have a lot of cookies with no Engram-sized chips in them.
As it sits now, it is hard to see where Engram fits right now in the offense. The NFL is far from sure footing and each week is its own mini-season, but the scenarios of where the team intended Engram to be at right now doesn’t look promising. Based on injuries, player ability and guys on the roster already, Evan Engram may be the odd man out in the Denver offense for the time being.
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