I sure like Evan Engram a lot. Not so much because of his hands, speed or any other quality, but because of the offense he’s in.

Engram led all tight ends last year with 114 catches – 19 more than anyone else at his position. Most of those were short and of little value (he averaged only 8.5 yards per catch) but they’re putting the ball in his hands.

The driving factor here, I think, isn’t Engram or Trevor Lawrence, but Doug Pederson. When Pederson was with the Eagles, he had a tight end finish with top-10 numbers in all five of his season. Zach Ertz finished in the top 4 in four of those seasons.

Pederson has spent seven seasons as a head coach. In those years, his teams have averaged 126 completions to tight ends. That’s the 2nd-most in the league in those seasons, trailing only the Raiders.

TIGHT ENDS (Pederson's 7 seasons)
YearTeamNoYardsAvgTD
2024Las Vegas898971910.858
2024Pederson tms880902410.359
2024Kansas City8371009412.174
2024Philadelphia749823911.058
2024Baltimore715812611.464
2024Minnesota61459079.646
2024Atlanta588652511.140
2024Indianapolis583635810.959
2024NY Giants579589210.232
2024Dallas57557119.948
2024San Francisco575765113.352
2024Cleveland572612410.755
2024Tennessee566601010.648
2024Seattle545558410.254
2024Tampa Bay542626911.660
2024LA Chargers541582610.845
2024Jacksonville52150179.623
2024Pittsburgh51650519.831
2024Detroit515542110.551
2024LA Rams508536210.630
2024Denver504529510.536
2024Green Bay502529810.639
2024Washington501508810.232
2024Houston490552311.342
2024Arizona481510010.632
2024Cincinnati47542799.032
2024Chicago469468910.045
2024Miami462487710.630
2024Buffalo442472710.742
2024New England434525912.136
2024New Orleans431489911.455
2024NY Jets43142599.927
2024Carolina364379910.422

Engram is in the Ertz role now. He averaged 4.3 catches in the 2022 season (heating up late in the year), and he moved up to 6.7 per game in the just-completed season. He may also benefit some from the Jaguars losing Calvin Ridley in free agency (they’ve signed Gabe Davis, but he’s never been a volume pass catcher).

Engram was plagued by injuries when he was with New York, but he hasn’t missed any of 36 possible games with the Jaguars (including the playoffs).

Looks like a safe bet for 90-plus catches to me. Not a big red-zone option (he’s caught only 4 TDs in each of the last two seasons). In PPR formats, Engram will be one of the first five tight ends on my board. At least.

—Ian Allan