N/S Jaguars release TE Evan Engram [Broncos sign Evan Engram to 2-year/23m deal] (10 Viewers)

[SigFreudianSlip]

Another one of their 2022 free agent class guys gone.

Only 30 years old. For a team in our situation he may be worth a look.

Good god, didn’t realize he had 114 catches in 2023.

Yep. Anyone turning their nose up at this is completely wack as our TE room is and has been abysmally bad.

Hope they look at Noah Fant too.

 

[St. Geezy]

Yep. Anyone turning their nose up at this is completely wack as our TE room is and has been abysmally bad.

Hope they look at Noah Fant too.

Right. Some are going to have to realize that not every roster hole is going to be filled with a draft pick or a young guy in his mid 20s.

It is okay to sign people that are in their early 30s.

 

[TribuneUK]

In this case, the literal millions of dollars of salary difference between an aging vet and the rookie wage scale beg to differ.

 

[St. Geezy]

In this case, the literal millions of dollars of salary difference between an aging vet and the rookie wage scale beg to differ.

I mean, that makes sense, but I think it is a fact that we are going to be signing veteran free agents this off-season worth millions more than the guys we pick up as rookies, so it’s just a matter of which spots we choose to fill with those multi-million dollar veterans.

A position like tight end, where we basically have absolutely nothing to work with at the moment, could very well be one of those spots.

 

[TribuneUK]

I mean, that makes sense, but I think it is a fact that we are going to be signing veteran free agents this off-season worth millions more than the guys we pick up as rookies, so it’s just a matter of which spots we choose to fill with those multi-million dollar veterans.

A position like tight end, where we basically have absolutely nothing to work with at the moment, could very well be one of those spots.

I think that is a fact, as you rightly say, but the prospect seems more likely to be spending the majority of those dollars on other positions. The bang for buck from veteran TEs, based on the spotrac data I shared, is pretty poor.

 

[3ParStillDriver]

Even if his effectiveness is winding down, he's probably better than what we have and adding some veteran presence to this offense doesn't sounds like a bad idea to me. Also aren't most people against drafting positions of need (which I've never really understood) and all about BPA? What if we never get that TE in the draft because we are more concerned with BPA?

He didn't just lose his effectiveness. He was one of the worst TE's in the league. He struggled to ever get separation, despite only playing 9 games, he tied like 2nd or 3rd in dropped passes with other TE's that played 16+ games. His run blocking is sub-par. He's also very bad in the red-zone getting open and just isn't good finding the soft spots in zones. Trevor Lawrence rarely ever bothered to even look his way in the red-zone, it was so bad.

This guy wouldn't even be better than Juwan Johnson. Silly to sign him and let Johnson walk. Coen wants an effective, dependable TE, which is why Engram is walking. We could get a much better TE in the 4th or 5th round like Luke Lachey who would also be much cheaper.

 

[Hank]

Yes or No

Saints TE room is very underwhelming.
JJ--FA--I would let him walk
Moreau-- is average, keep as a back up
Holker---have no idea what he can be

Engram is better than any of them at 31 yrs old. Probably wouldn't break the bank and affordable. 2 year deal

Infuse with young talent--Mason Taylor in 2nd or 3rd.

 

[TribuneUK]

Probably wouldn't break the bank and affordable. 2 year deal

Unlikely to be true. Here again is the entirely contrary evidence - look at the sums being paid even to frankly mediocre TEs. I mean, without looking it up, can anyone tell me who Colby Parkinson and Josh Oliver play for? And yet they're making $7.0-7.5m per year average....

Check the cost of veteran TE annual salaries vs slotted draftee salaries and tell us again that it's that simple.

Tight End Contracts and Salaries | Over The Cap

Ranking the top NFL Tight End contracts and salaries in the NFL

overthecap.com

NFL Rookie Scales

A look at the rookie scales for each year of the NFL.

www.spotrac.com

The 4-year salaries for the Saints draft picks at 9, 40, 71 and 93 are as follows:-

9 - $24m ($4.5m year 1)
40 - $10m ($1.8m)
71 - $6.4m ($1.2m)
93 - $6m ($1.1m)

Let someone else make bad bets on getting worthwhile production out of an aging, declining and injury prone vet. No one in the NFL cares how good he used to be in Fantasy.

 

[meily]

Saints TE room is very underwhelming.
JJ--FA--I would let him walk
Moreau-- is average, keep as a back up
Holker---have no idea what he can be

Engram is better than any of them at 31 yrs old. Probably wouldn't break the bank and affordable. 2 year deal

Infuse with young talent--Mason Taylor in 2nd or 3rd.

We aren't scrapping the bottom of the free agency pool to build a team thinking it is going to make us better, we are going to sign free agents during the free agency period where you can sign available free agents not salary dumped players.

 

[St.Dan]

We have nobody on the roster even close to Engram’s status.

2024 47 catches in 9 games
2023 114 catches in 17 games
2022 98 catches in 17 games
2021 78 catches in 15 games
2020 63 catches in 16 games

He still falls into the category of a recently-injured player who'd carry a slight health risk going forward. As other posters have said, there's a nice batch of guys in the draft who'd be a wonderful upgrade over what we have. And healthy, too.

 

[stvol]

Don’t want another teams cast offs!

 

[St.Dan]

Saints TE room is very underwhelming.
JJ--FA--I would let him walk
Moreau-- is average, keep as a back up
Holker---have no idea what he can be

Engram is better than any of them at 31 yrs old. Probably wouldn't break the bank and affordable. 2 year deal

Infuse with young talent--Mason Taylor in 2nd or 3rd.

I'm all-in with that last part, but I'd be a bit surprised if Taylor lasted til the third round. Would absolutely love to have ANY of the elite TEs in the draft this year, provided we pick up Becton in free agency. (I can't stress the importance of the trenches enough!)

 

[Stalwart385]

I think that is a fact, as you rightly say, but the prospect seems more likely to be spending the majority of those dollars on other positions. The bang for buck from veteran TEs, based on the spotrac data I shared, is pretty poor.

Hmm I'd argue TE is on the cheaper side of positions so you get more value drafting other positions. I'd have to check but I know its nothing like DE, WR, CB, etc.

Regardless I don't like going into the draft saying "we'll fix this position in the draft". Not only are the players a crap shoot so is what's available.

Address every glaring hole before the draft. Draft the best players you can. See if anything is left in FA to upgrade after the draft.

I think TE is too big a hole to wait till the draft. But that does matter on Hill and Moreau's health. Which seems bleak from my perspective but could be different internally.

I'm not keen on Engram. Great player but I think ideally we'd get a more Juan level target to fill the hole short term or a younger player long term. Engram is a legit player though, if last year wasn't a sign of what's to come.

 

[TribuneUK]

Hmm I'd argue TE is on the cheaper side of positions so you get more value drafting other positions. I'd have to check but I know its nothing like DE, WR, CB, etc.

Regardless I don't like going into the draft saying "we'll fix this position in the draft". Not only are the players a crap shoot so is what's available.

Address every glaring hole before the draft. Draft the best players you can. See if anything is left in FA to upgrade after the draft.

I think TE is too big a hole to wait till the draft. But that does matter on Hill and Moreau's health. Which seems bleak from my perspective but could be different internally.

I'm not keen on Engram. Great player but I think ideally we'd get a more Juan level target to fill the hole short term or a younger player long term. Engram is a legit player though, if last year wasn't a sign of what's to come.

So I think what may have been lost from view is that my comments were in relation to the idea of signing Engram, an ageing player who is exiting a $13.75m AAV contract, and who will expect pay commensurate with his market. I contrasted this with the rookie pay scale quite deliberately to show that was one route to follow. The other will likely be to continue signing Evan McNobody's for minimal vet salaries as we've done for some time now.

I agree with your broader points about not waiting until the draft, filling holes etc. That's all wise counsel. What I find impossible to understand is the assumption of some that a player who has enjoyed past success, now cut ostensibly due to being aging and overpriced, is going to become a 'value' proposition for us. The money being paid out to TEs, even middling ones, does not support that notion in any evidential way.

 

[ShortFuzed9]

Yes please. Hes better then what we got.