Green Bay Packers: 4 Trade Targets with Deadline Looming
By Paul Bretl
Green Bay Packers Trade Target: Evan Engram, TE, New York
With the recent news that Robert Tonyan’s season is over after tearing his ACL, tight end all of a sudden becomes a position that the Green Bay Packers could target.
In terms of pass-catching abilities, Marcedes Lewis is still a traditional Y-tight end, while Josiah Deguara and Dominique Dafney have just eight combined targets over their careers. If Green Bay wants to add a dynamic presence with experience, then Evan Engram may be worth targeting.
From 2017 to 2020, Engram caught 61 percent of his 356 targets at 11.2 yards per catch and 13 touchdowns. During that span, he averaged 54 receptions and 605 receiving yards each season.
In 2021, he has hauled in 20 of his 26 targets but at only 8.6 yards per catch. It’s also worth noting that drops and blocking have been issues for him over his career–although it’s not as if Tonyan was lighting it up as a blocker this season either.
Below, Dan Benton of Giants Wire shares why a change of scenery could help Engram reach his full potential:
"“Let’s just be honest: Engram is a talented and dynamic player but he simply doesn’t mesh well in New York. Whether it’s scheme, his injury history, a perception among fans or his rapport with quarterback Daniel Jones, things just aren’t working out. Engram has failed to meet his potential when he’s able to stay on the field and that in and of itself is a crapshoot. Perhaps the most baffling issue with Engram is his propensity for crushing drops in big moments. He’s also frequently involved on plays that result in turnovers — more than 40 percent of Jones’ total turnovers involved Engram in some way or another. There’s still plenty of upside for Engram, but he may need a change of scenery to realize his potential.”"
Engram is in the final year of his contract, and he comes with a base salary of $6.01 million, which would be prorated since we are almost eight weeks through the NFL season.
There is certainly some risk in making this move, but as Benton mentioned, there’s plenty of untapped upside as well that could provide the Green Bay Packers with another playmaker.