Giants select Ole Miss tight end Evan Engram in first round of NFL Draft
The New York Giants added another offensive weapon when they selected Ole Miss tight end Evan Engram with the 23rd overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Engram set school records for receptions (162), receiving yards (2,320), and touchdowns (15) by a tight end. He is the first player in school history to earn All-SEC honors four times. He was a First-team All-American in his senior year and won the Ozzie Newsome Award as the nation’s top tight end.
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Engram caught a team-high 65 passes in 2016 for 926 yards and eight touchdowns. He led all tight ends in the nation with 5.9 catches per game and 84.2 yards per game.
The 6’3”, 235-pound Engram is described as a matchup nightmare.
“He can block on the perimeter. He’ll be an immediate impact player,” NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said. “He skill set is closer to (Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver) Mike Evans. He runs routes like a wide receiver. I don’t care what you call him. (Giants quarterback) Eli (Manning) is gonna say ‘Wow, I love this kid.’”
SB Nation described Engram as “a big play receiver who happens to have the right size to play tight end. His athleticism will make it difficult for even the league’s fastest linebackers to cover him, and NFL teams have begun to focus on creating those mismatches more and more since players like (New England Patriots tight end) Rob Gronkowski and (Seattle Seahawks tight end) Jimmy Graham started roasting secondaries this decade”.
Engram’s selection by the Giants raised a few eyebrows. Many draft boards had the Giants selecting Miami (FL)’s David Njoku. Njoku was rated as the No. 2 tight end in the draft after Alabama’s O.J. Howard. Howard was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 19th pick. Njoku was taken 29th by the Cleveland Browns.
Engram is still a work in progress. He’s had issues with drops and must learn how to do a better job of working back to the ball. Engram also needs to do a better job of selling a two-way go to the top of his routes as opposed to giving route direction away.
Evan Engram has the skills and athleticism to make the Giants offense even more dangerous. His selection, though surprising, gets the 2017 NFL Draft off to a good start for the New York Football Giants.
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