Fantasy football managers of a certain age will remember Evan Engram as a first-round pick impressing during his rookie season with the Giants. He scored six times, earned 115 targets, and generally looked like a future asset in both our world and the evolving NFL.
He’s made his fair share of money since, but the production has largely lagged. As he prepares for his age-32 season, is there a path for him to actually be a value late in drafts now that expectations have all but evaporated?
Should You Draft Evan Engram in Fantasy Football?
Just 12 months ago, there was talk of Engram filling the “Joker” role in this Sean Payton offense. We, as an industry, fell in love with the idea of him being a knockoff Jimmy Graham and drafted him as a weekly starter as part of an offense ready to take a step forward.
The offense held up its end of that bargain, but it was in spite of its new TE, not because of him.
In a 32-team league, Engram was not one of the 34 tight ends to post multiple 50-yard games, and he saw just a single end-zone target in 16 games of work.
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Last season wasn’t a run of bad variance — it was a team admitting that they had made a mistake and deciding that their path to growth looked drastically different from what they had thought.
Oops.
The cap hit comes this season (over $14.1 million) before he becomes a free agent next summer, so he’s tied to this team but assured of nothing based on the disaster that was 2025.
Adam Trautman is back for a third season with the franchise, and while he’s a fine player, he’s not exactly an offensive threat (115 catches in 94 career games). That means Engram is likely to at least run some routes this season, but with Jaylen Waddle added to make the aerial attack more versatile, it’s hard to envision the TE position being anything close to a priority for Bo Nix and company.
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I’d believe you if you told me that, in November, Engram’s route participation is trending in a positive direction and you want to pay down at TE during a bye-week situation in the DFS streets, but outside of that, this is a name you know and production you don’t want.
Engram’s Dynasty Fantasy Football Value
Many moons ago, the TE position was one where veteran experience was essential. It required a long developmental process before we saw anything of interest. In that world, the Engram profile would have my attention for win-now dynasty managers, but we’ve never been further from that.
The college game has blessed the pros with half a dozen NFL-ready dual threats in recent years, and that has players like Engram going the way of the dinosaur. He doesn’t need to be rostered in most formats, and if you’re in a deep league where the waiver wire lacks even marginal roles, understand that Engram can very much be considered expendable as the season goes on and your roster develops.
We love the direction of the position, and as athletes evolve, we are more likely to see these athletic marvels who can do a bit of everything in their early 20s, but that does mean we have to get comfortable with cutting deadweight relics of the past.
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Think of Engram like an aging center in the NBA who doesn’t have a jump shot. He’s still the same player he was, but the game has passed him by, and it’s likely too late for him to recover any value in our world of number crunching.
Looking for better options at the position? Waiting on TE is perfectly acceptable and by practicing in PFN’S FREE Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator, you can get a feel as to who you like best among those who last until the very end.
