NFL Trade Rumors: 3 Potential landing spots for New York Giants TE Evan Engram
One player being linked with a trade away from New York Giants is questionable- Pro Bowl TE Evan Engram.
Evan Engram flattered to deceive the Giants' faithful last season: the TE did tally up 654-yards receiving, but the big man only registered one TD all year and his hands let him down all too often (including the big drop seen below against the Eagles). In fact, Evan Engram only hauled in 58% of his targets, which is why I just had to put 'questionable' up in the first paragraph; one can't help but feel he was a beneficiary of his own reputation with that bizarre selection!? Knock on wood if you hear me, Giants' fans.
All that being said, Evan Engram is still a young, talented tight end that would improve many an NFL team (I just don't think he deserved his Pro Bowl nomination, but what do I know?), so he will likely find himself plenty of admirers if the Giants do opt to trade him.
Let's take a look at the:
NFL Trade Rumors: 3 potential landing spots for New York Giants TE Evan Engram
#3 Buffalo Bills
Last season, the Bills came up just short in their quest to reach the organization's first Super Bowl since 1994. Josh Allen and co. were bested by the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Conference final, 38-24, and Buffalo fans will remember all too well what a difference an elite tight end can make out on the turf: Chiefs Travis Kelce ended play with 188-yards and 2 TDs to his name.
In contrast, Kelce's Bills' counterpart Dawson Knox managed just 42-yards (though he did grab himself a TD, to be fair). Nonetheless, In an offense that features Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs (amongst others), Knox's season return of just 288-yards simply isn't good enough; Knox is a decent TE but appears to lack the pace and athleticism to get himself open often enough to be consistently effective against the best in the NFL.
Being that Buffalo is one of those teams in the NFL that has 90% of the pieces in place to launch another assault on the Lombardi trophy next season, tight end has to be a position that general manager Brandon Beane will be looking at closely during the offseason.
Dodgy hands or not, the Giants TE Evan Engram would be a serious offensive upgrade at the Bills Stadium. It's not every season you get a chance to bring a Pro Bowl TE into your organization and if the Bills are serious about competing for major honors, Evan Engram must be on Beane's radar.
#2 Seattle Seahawks
It was a bit of a merry-go-round of tight ends for Russel Wilson under center last season.
The Seahawks tried to fill the spot by drafting former Carolina Panther, Greg Olsen during the 2020 offseason, but -- as with so much of his late-career -- Olsen found himself injured more often than not and struggled for form.
Will Dissly played a few games but was nothing to write home about, and though Jacob Hollister did perform well in spurts and seems to have a nose for the endzone, to compete against the very best in the league, the Seahawks need to upgrade the TE position, especially now that Olsen has retired for good.
Evan Engram would be a marked upgrade on any tight end the Seahawks can currently boast among their ranks -- as would Zach Ertz (seen above) -- and a receiving corps featuring DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Evan Engram does have a nice ring to it, don't you think?
#1 Indianapolis Colts
Mo Allie-Cox was the number one TE in Indianapolis last season. The Virginia Commonwealth graduate didn't perform terribly but didn't exactly turn any heads either, as evidenced by a modest return of 394-yards receiving and just the 2 TDs.
With QB Carson Wentz set to arrive at the Lucas Oil Stadium in time for the 2021 preseason, coach Frank Reich needs to ensure his new man behind the line has an abundance of quality targets to aim at.
We've already seen Wentz surrounded by average-good receiving corps during the Eagles 2020 campaign and it wasn't good viewing! Colts' mainstay WR T.Y. Hilton isn't expected to be offered a new deal and will likely move on during the free agency period, which would leave Wentz with just sophomore Michael Pittman Jr (503-yards in 2020) and the impressive backfield duo of Nyheim Hines and Jonathan Taylor to sling the ball to. This simply cannot happen. It won't happen.
If the Colts can pick up a Pro Bowl tight end, it's a chance they have to take. Carson Wentz in the pocket with no targets is a complete recipe for disaster. Evan Engram isn't the finished article just yet but his ceiling is still high if he can cut out the handling errors. Evan Engram to Indianapolis makes a lot of sense.