New York Giants: Was Evan Engram A Reach At No. 23?

The New York Giants surprised analysts and fans by selecting tight end Evan Engram in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

The first round of the 2017 NFL Draft was filled with numerous surprises. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky went second overall when the Chicago Bears traded with the San Francisco 49ers for his services. Numerous top-tier players fell down the draft order, so much so that some have not yet had their names called as of the afternoon of April 28.

The New York Giants joined the party of surprise moves when the club used pick No. 23 on tight end Evan Engram out of Ole Miss. Engram, listed at 6-3 by the team’s official website, is a speedster who can stretch the field and who should make for nightmare match-ups for opposing defenses. He will line up alongside wide receivers Odell Beckham, Brandon Marshall and Sterling Shepard, and the hope is he will be ready to immediately contribute on offense this coming September as Shepard was at the start of the 2016 campaign.

Engram may have the physical attributes and football skills to make a difference in the New York offense beginning in Week 1, but that doesn’t mean the club didn’t reach on drafting him 23rd overall. It’s possible, perhaps even likely, Engram would’ve fallen to the second round had the Giants not called his name on Thursday evening. David Njoku out of Miami was the consensus second-best player at the position at the start of the draft, and he remained on the board until the Cleveland Browns grabbed him with the 29th selection.

As it pertains specifically to Engram, there are noticeable holes in his game that led some to question the Giants drafting him. As James Kratch of NJ.com directly stated following the first night of the 2017 NFL Draft, Engram “is basically a wide receiver who may not block a soul.” Engram may be ready to enter the New York lineup tomorrow, but his upside, on paper, is small compared to tight ends such as Njoku and Alabama product O.J. Howard.

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A plethora of Giants fans posting on social media throughout the first round of the draft wanted the club to move up to grab Howard, who fell down to 19th before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers added him to their offense. General manager Jerry Reese has no long history of giving picks away to make such a transaction, and that trend continued, for better or for worse, on Thursday.

The Giants obviously didn’t believe Howard was worth a massive investment that would’ve cost future selections, and it’s also clear the club didn’t want to have to wait for Njoku to develop. Njoku may prove to be a better tight end than Engram, but Njoku turns just 21 years old this coming summer. He would be a project for any team.

Perhaps most curious of all is that the Giants elected to not take a prospect who was, on paper, the best player available at No. 23. The Oakland Raiders grabbed cornerback Gareon Conley with the 24th pick, but Big Blue not taking the Ohio State defensive back is understandable. New York passed on safety Jabrill Peppers, a somewhat surprising decision considering the club’s admiration for versatile defensive players with impressive athleticism. Reuben Foster, arguably the top linebacker in this draft class, fell down to pick No. 31 due to numerous alleged character red flags.

It seems, after the fact, rumors the Giants were not enamored with the supposed top offensive tackles in this draft class were accurate. With that said, one has to wonder what might have been had the Denver Broncos not selected Utah offensive tackle Garett Bolles with the 20th pick. New York still needs to address the elephant in the room that is left tackle Ereck Flowers, and one should expect the club to do so before the draft comes to an end.

Last but certainly not least is the quarterback position. Eli Manning turned 36 years old earlier this year, and he is unquestionably closer to retirement than to the prime of his playing days. Trubisky, Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson were all selected between picks 2 and 12, and the Giants were never going to trade up for a potential future franchise quarterback. Whether or not the club will regret not using a first-round selection on a signal-caller such as DeShone Kizer or Brad Kaaya has yet to be determined.

Grade: Nobody should doubt the Giants are in “Super Bowl or bust” mode following the team’s actions in free agency and on the first night of the draft. A player selected after Engram may have a better overall career when all is said and done, but those running the Giants clearly wanted somebody who can provide a boost to what is already an impressive passing attack. That decision may come back to haunt Reese and company years down the road, which is why this pick receives a B- a day after the fact.

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