Meet Evan Engram, the 2016 NFL Draft's Top TE Heading into Next Season
Evan Engram might be more of a big wide receiver than a tight end, but regardless of what position he is labeled as, the offensive weapon from Ole Miss has a chance to be not only one of the best playmakers in the 2016 NFL draft class but perhaps in the entire NFL.
Engram is not your granddaddy's tight end. Listed at 6'3" and 227 pounds by Mississippi's official athletics website, he is small for the position by modern standards and rarely lines up as an in-line blocker.
What makes him special, nonetheless, is his top-notch athleticism—athleticism that is good even by wide receiver standards and makes him a dynamic playmaking threat who can make defenses look bad in a variety of ways.
.png?w=256)
.jpg?w=256 "Cowboys Giants Football")
Engram might not fit what every team that is targeting a tight end in the 2016 NFL draft is looking for. Even so, there are numerous reasons why any team that is looking to make its offense more explosive next offseason should consider making a move on him, assuming he decides to turn pro after his junior year at Mississippi.
Big-Play Potential All Over the Field
While most traditional tight ends—even in the NFL—have limited ability to stretch the field deep, Engram has excellent straight-line speed and acceleration that make him a big-play threat any time he has room to run.
Playing in a conference known for its athleticism, Engram led all Football Bowl Subdivision tight ends in 2014 in plays of 20 or more yards (11), 30 or more yards (six), 40 or more yards (four) and 50 or more yards (three), according to CFBStats.com.
Engram's longest play of the 2014 season came in the Egg Bowl, against Mississippi State, when he used his wheels to turn a reception on an intermediate slant into an 83-yard gain.
Watching the play above, one could easily mistake Engram for a smaller slot receiver rather than a 227-pound player. As you can see in the All-22 angle of the play below, it was a combination of a shrewd outside head fake and a sharp inside route break that enabled him to get open for the catch and put his speed to good use.
Another example of Engram's big-play ability came in the Rebels' upset victory over Alabama in early October. Lined up on the inside of a bunch formation on the right side of the field, he split two defenders with his speed, extended his arms to make a catch away from his body and then kept his legs churning to finish with a 50-yard gain.
The other of Engram's three 50-yard plays came when the Rebels played Auburn in November. After a six-yard turnaround catch, he rapidly turned upfield and ran by four defenders, again showcasing his straight-line speed, this time en route to a touchdown.
Beyond that speed, Engram also exhibits an ability to elude defenders and extend plays in the open field that is rare for a player of his size. Witness a prime example in the following clip from the Egg Bowl, in which he bounced off one tackler, juked away from another defender and then dragged a third as he churned forward for a 35-yard gain.
In comparison to physically larger tight ends, Engram does not offer the same ability to box out linebackers and safeties with his frame and make contested catches. That said, his ability to separate from those same defenders and/or change direction away from them makes him dynamic in a whole different way.
He is not yet a diversified route-runner, but he has the potential to be great in that area. Clean in and out of his breaks, especially relative to the average tight end, Engram is able to take advantage of defensive backs' slow reaction times and achieve separation to get open for catches.
He lacks the height, strength and leaping ability to consistently make plays against coverage, but he is adept at extending away from his frame to lengthen his catch radius and make challenging grabs. One of his most aesthetic receptions last season was the following one-handed catch, also from the Mississippi State game, which he made look easy.
To further showcase his pass-catching ability, Engram posted a compilation of himself making one-handed catches to Instagram earlier this offseason:
Altogether, he offers a skill set that could enable him to emerge as one of the primary pass-catching playmakers on an NFL offense. Able to line up as a tight end, slot receiver, fullback/H-back or even an outside receiver, Engram will be best utilized by a team that has a creative offensive coordinator who relishes the opportunity to move him all over the field and create mismatches.
A Better Blocker Than You Might Think
It's easy to assume that because Engram is much smaller than the average NFL tight end, he will be a liability as a blocker. That assumption, however, is not entirely accurate.
Utilizing his strengths will be crucial for any NFL team that drafts him. Expecting him to bulk up significantly and become an every-down in-line tight end would not be a recipe for success. As a "move" tight end, though, Engram has proved he can be an effective blocker in space more often than not.
You won't see him moving any defensive linemen backward off the line of scrimmage, but you won't see a great deal of that from any of the draft's other top tight ends either, at least not yet.
What Engram does do well is maneuver in space to reach his blocking targets and then lock onto them with his hands to sustain blocks. His athleticism continues to be an asset in this regard, as he is able to quickly move across the pocket or downfield to get in front of a play and into a defender.
The following play from the Alabama game is a good example of his sustaining a block in space. Able to get his hands on Crimson Tide defensive back Jarrick Williams outside, Engram effectively moved Williams toward the right sideline and then held his block long enough to enable screen receiver I'Tavius Mathers to cut inside for a nine-yard gain.
There's another good example of Engram making a screen block in space in the following clip, from the Mississippi State game, in which he gets his hands on a defender and pushes him backward and into the ground, enabling Jaylen Walton to take the ball up the right sideline for a 16-yard gain.
There will be many tight ends in the 2016 NFL draft class who are better in-line blockers than Engram, and no team is going to draft him for his blocking ability, but that does not mean that his blocking is a deficiency. If utilized as a flex tight end, wide receiver or even an H-back, he should be able to make a positive contribution in the run game and on screen plays as well.
As Engram told RebelGrove.com's Chase Parham this spring, he's emphasizing becoming a stronger blocker in his preparation for the upcoming season:
"I'm focused on getting stronger and being able to hold blocks against defensive ends and linebackers and bigger guys. I'm focused on my hands and route running. I need to get better with everything that goes with the tight end spot. I want to be a guy who doesn't get pulled out on third and short. I want to stay in and hold my own.
"
Where Does Engram Fit in the 2016 NFL Draft?
Because Engram does not fit the traditional mold for the tight end position, he will not be at the top of all teams' draft boards and is likely to receive a wide variance of grades from teams and draftniks alike.
For those who would rather draft an old-school tight end than a hybrid like Engram, Arkansas' Hunter Henry could be a favorite. At 6'5" and 250 pounds, he has more prototypical measurables for the position, and he is both a skilled downfield receiver and a solid in-line blocker.
Last week, ESPN.com's Sam Khan Jr. cited Henry's well-roundedness in making his case that the Arkansas junior, not Engram, should be regarded as the Southeastern Conference's top tight end heading into the 2015 season.
"I'm a fan of tight ends who excel at both receiving and blocking, and Henry does that for the Hogs," Khan wrote. "Henry has good size (6'5", 250 lbs), body control and ball skills, and he's a good route-runner and a smart player."
That said, there is nothing physically spectacular about Henry. While he could be regarded as a safer selection than Engram, he lacks the playmaking upside that could ultimately make Engram a more impactful player.
ESPN.com's Edward Aschoff, in a counterpoint to Khan in the aforementioned article, cited that playmaking ability in arguing that Engram should not only be considered the SEC's best tight end but the best tight end in all of college football:
"For starters, Engram, a junior, is an absolute freak of sporting nature. Have you seen these ridiculous, one-handed catches he made with ease during the offseason? Do you see how big this creature is (a chiseled 6'3", 227 pounds) and how fast he is while carrying that size? Engram can out-muscle defensive backs with his size and strength, but he can also sprint by most linebackers with his speed, which really can be considered receiver speed most of the time. That sort of athletic combination makes him extremely dangerous against any defense.
"
There are other tight ends, as well, who can legitimately push Engram and Henry in the 2016 NFL draft.
Alabama junior O.J. Howard, another SEC representative, has arguably the most potential of any tight end in college football. He exhibits great athletic ability at 6'6" and 242 pounds but needs to show more consistency as both a receiver and blocker than he has in his first two collegiate seasons.
Stanford's Austin Hooper has the tools to emerge as a top prospect. He exhibits an excellent ability to adjust to the ball and make challenging catches, and he has a solid combination of size (6'4" and 249 lbs) and athleticism. But it would come as a surprise if he declares for the 2016 draft after his redshirt sophomore season.
Regardless of how those players might progress this upcoming season, comparing Engram to Henry, Howard and Hooper is like comparing apples to oranges. All of those players offer more size than Engram and can be projected as traditional, "Y" tight ends, which he cannot. Engram, however, is a more gifted athlete and playmaker in space whose potential as an "F" tight end appears, at least thus far, to be unmatched in college football this year.
Because of that, he might not be competing with Henry, Howard, Hooper and/or any other in-line tight end prospects who emerge for the 2016 draft. And because the skill set Engram brings to the table varies significantly from his counterparts' at the position, there will be teams interested in drafting him that are not interested in drafting the other tight ends and vice versa.
Either way, Engram should factor in the conversation to be a first-round pick, so long as he continues to be a star playmaker for the Ole Miss offense in 2015.
Only two tight ends have been selected before the No. 20 overall pick in the past 11 years: Eric Ebron, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2014 draft, and Vernon Davis, the No. 6 pick in 2006. Both of those tight ends, like Engram, faced questions about their blocking ability but were highly regarded for their athleticism and ability to be receiving playmakers.
Engram, small even in comparison to Ebron (6'4", 265 lbs) and Davis (6'3", 250 lbs), probably won't be drafted as high as they were. But it's also likely that if Engram performs as well on the field and at the NFL Scouting Combine as he is expected to, his potential will be too enticing to pass up for at least one team in the first round of the 2016 draft.
This article is part of a series on the projected top prospects at each position for the 2016 NFL draft. Also read:
All GIFs were made at Gfycat using videos from Draft Breakdown and YouTube.
Dan Hope is an NFL/NFL Draft Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=480 "Cowboys Giants Football")
.jpg?w=480 "STEELERS-RODGERS")
.jpg?w=600 "Battery Charges Against Arike Dropped")
.jpg?w=600 "AEW Dynamite Results & Grades")
