New York Giants: Time for Evan Engram to step up

The New York Giants are desperately thin at wide receiver and with Saquon Barkley already shouldering most of the workload, it’s time for someone else to step up. Tight end Evan Engram is the next man up.

The New York Giants were always going to be thin at wide receiver this year after letting Odell Beckham Jr. go in a trade to Cleveland. The team is without Golden Tate for the next three games while he is dealing with a league suspension for testing positive for a banned substance. Sterling Shepard is out at least this week after suffering a concussion in the team’s loss against Dallas, last week.  This team has always embraced the next man up and that man is Evan Engram.

Engram is not a new part of the Giants offense, but he has never been their top dynamic player. There was always Beckham Jr. and then last year was the Barkley show. Last season, Engram missed a total of five games due to injuries. Eli Manning has tried to get the ball to his tight end, but Engram has had problems with ball security.

Last week, however, Engram showed that he was ready to be “the guy” for Big Blue. Securing 11 out of 14 targets for 116 yards and a touchdown against Dallas backed up Engram’s bid to be the top guy for Big Blue.

The New York Giants will have to rely on him the rest of the season as their wide receivers are having a hard time staying healthy for New York.  He is a mismatch for most defenses as he plays like a wide receiver, but is built bigger than most. Additionally, Engram is more athletic than most of the league’s tight ends.

“Double E” has all of the necessary skills to be the best tight end in football and now he has the opportunity to prove it in his third professional season.