Buffalo Bills: Does targeting this free agent tight end make sense?
By Dakota Wayne
Argument against the Buffalo Bills acquiring Evan Engram
Now, after hearing the positives of Evan Engram, let’s look at the negatives.
It’s no secret that Evan Engram has an issue with dropping passes. It’s nearly what’s seemingly driven him out of the Giants’ offense. And, to his credit, it’s not like the Giants have been that great around him.
Engram, even with his flaws, has still been one of the better offensive players for the Giants, but even that praise isn’t very high.
The Giants have a total of 13 turnovers on offense this year. Evan Engram has been involved in 5 of them. 4 targets on INT’s out of Jones’ 7 total INT’s & 1 fumble. If you ask me, he has been involved in 6 turnovers this year b/c I count the 3rd down drop in Philly as a turnover. pic.twitter.com/pH7wMok5RU
— Justin Penik (@JustinPenik) October 26, 2020
After watching that compilation, it’s clear that Engram has a bit of a turnover bug, which is a big no-no for teams scouting their next offensive weapon. When you’re giving the ball to the other team– or at least being a major factor of why that football is in the other team’s possession– is a big red flag for all teams pursuing him.
And with such a deep wide receiver class this NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills don’t need to spend the money to get Evan Engram on their roster. Acquiring Evan Engram isn’t a need; it’s a want, apparently.
So, if the Bills pass on Engram now, they have plenty of chances to capitalize on a receiver from this year’s NFL Draft to fill that empty slot receiver role.
Obviously, the up-side to getting Engram instead of a rookie is that Engram has more NFL experience under his belt, and that’s an attractive quality when comparing the two.
On the flip-side of that argument, rookies are far cheaper than free agents on their second deal. Usually, how it works for higher-end free agents is their second contract is the big bag. For Engram, it shouldn’t look that way based on what he’s produced. But, it wouldn’t be the first time a free agent’s been paid more than their worth.
Next. 4 potential bargain free agents at wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills. dark
So, when weighing the pros and cons, the compensation would need to be back-end heavy with a prove-it deal contract in place for the Buffalo Bills to acquire Evan Engram. Anything more than that, and it’d be an overpay in my opinion.
All-in-all, only time will tell if Evan Engram would make the Buffalo Bills’ offense better, but with the offseason heating up, we’ll see what the Bills end up doing.