Draft Profile: TE Evan Engram

Draft Profile: TE Evan Engram
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It's like Christmas. All of the excitement and build-up came to an end last week in Philly when NFL teams selected the players they've been studying all year. The 2017 NFL Draft now in the books as we enter another chapter of the offseason.

Voluntary workouts are underway with Organized Team Activities (OTAs) set to begin in mid-May. Casual football fans shrug off this time of year, since there's really not much else to do. Instead, they eagerly wait for the start of preseason football (well, some do). However, inside the 32 NFL clubs across the league, we're approaching full throttle. Rookies will begin to carve roles in their new respective teams, rosters will be bulked and then trimmed, schemes will be installed, the to-do list is endless.

In arguably the most unpredictable draft the NFL has seen, the general manager Jerry Reese of the New York Giants stuck true to his “vanilla” approach. He had his big board and did not deviate from it. The Giants made six selections in this year's draft (they traded away their seventh-round pick). For now, let’s take a look at the Giants’ first-rounder.

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

1st round (pick no. 23) – Evan Engram, TE, Ole Miss

Measurables – 6'3”, 234 lbs., 33.5” arm length, 10” hands

40-yard dash = 4.42 seconds

Bench press = 19 reps

Vertical jump = 36.0 inches

Broad jump = 125.0 inches

3-cone drill = 6.92 seconds

20-yard shuttle = 4.23 seconds

Engram was a hot name heading into the draft. There were talks around the league of him flying up draft boards and making his way into the middle/end of the first round. Those talks came to fruition at pick number 23 when the Giants nabbed the Ole Miss stud. At first glance, the pick seems like a bit of a reach, which it still may be. Reese's big board likely crumbled after TE O.J. Howard, OT Garrett Bolles, and LB Jarrad Davis all went at picks 19, 20, and 23, respectively. Here is where many believe Reese showed his biggest weakness. Yet again, he was stubborn in his philosophy of not trading up. Even with top guys in arm's reach, Reese was caught flat-footed. Moving up would have required a bit of capital, though both Bolles and Howard were both top targets and positions of need for the Giants. Many viewed Bolles as the top tackle in the draft, and he could have immediately stepped in and challenged another under-performing “Reese reach” (consider it coined) LT Ereck Flowers. As for Howard, he brings a dimension to the TE position that Engram doesn't have: blocking. Howard is big and strong, and could have provided some much needed help in the trenches for the G-Men. To give an idea of what it would have cost the Giants to make a move, below is a draft value chart courtesy of Rich Hill (@PP_Rich_Hill), managing editor at PatsPulpit. The chart takes into account all 124 trades that included only draft picks (not players) that occurred following the new Collective Bargaining Agreement in 2011.

Rich Hill/@PP_Rich_Hill

By way of simple math, we can easily calculate a rough estimate of the market value for the no. 19 pick (where the Buccanneers selected O.J. Howard). And, since Bolles was selected immediately following Howard, we can safely assume a trade for Bolles would require similar capital. I'll spare you the math and let you dabble into this if you'd like.

Back to Engram. The former Ole Miss tight end is fast. He is a polished route runner and is very quick. He gives QB Eli Manning a weapon outside of Beckham Jr. that he severely lacked in 2016. Engram can stretch the field and pose a big threat for defenses down the seams. His athletic ability is elite though he is a bit under-sized. Engram has drawn comparisons to Redskins TE Jordan Reed which, in my opinion, may be selling him short. Why? Because speed kills. Coming out of the draft, both Engram and Reed were almost identical in size. The difference? Engram carried his 6'3” and 234 lb. frame for 40 yards in 4.43 seconds. For Reed, it took 4.72 seconds.

Let's look at another comparison. This time, let's see how Engram stacks up to Buccaneers WR Mike Evans (6'5”, 231 lbs.)

Evans → 4.53 second 40-yard dash, 12 bench press reps, 37 inch vertical jump, 7.08 second 3-cone drill, 4.26 second 20-yard shuttle

Referring back to Engram's combine results above, the biggest differences come in the bench press and 40-yard dash. In the bench press Engram edges Evans by 7 reps, though in Evans’ defense you’d hope your tight end would possess a bit more strength than your wide receiver. However, Engram also beats Evans in the 40 by just over a tenth of a second. It may seem small, but in the football world that's a ton.

These comparisons are useful to gain an idea on what Engram can bring to the table. Blend Reed's size and route running with a boosted Evan's athletic ability and you get Engram. It's yet to be determined if his success will translate into the NFL, but us Giants fans have reason to be hopeful.

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