Tight end Evan Engram heard from a pair of AFC West teams after he was released by the Jaguars, but the Broncos were able to beat out the Chargers when it came to signing the veteran as a free agent.
Engram said that his meeting with head coach Sean Payton had a lot to do with that. Engram said “everything kind of clicked” when he heard Payton’s thoughts about how Engram would fit into Denver’s offense. Engram said Payton pitched him on being a “jack of all trades” and that the coach sees him becoming “more of a vertical threat” that he was during his time with the Giants and Jaguars.
“In Jacksonville, I was kind of a master of the underneath game, which is big for offenses, it’s big for young quarterbacks, it’s big for staying ahead of the chains,” Engram said, via Bennie Fowler of DNVR. “I love that role in that offense. And I’m going to continue to be great at that and be great at whatever I’m asked to do. But I think the vertical presence that he mentioned and brought to the table and the vision he had for that was really big for me too. Because I do have that part in my game and I’m ready to be unleashed in that aspect. The vision that he has for that is that joker role. I love the narrative of the superhero, the supervillains, I love superhero stuff. I love Spiderman, Batman, all that stuff, it’s definitely cool. I love creating that narrative for myself to put a little bit of healthy pressure on me too. That’s something I’m going to full embrace. Whatever I’m asked to do, I’m going to do it to the best of my ability.”
Engram has never had 1,000 receiving yards in a season since entering the NFL, but that could change if he is able to turn into the kind of vertical threat that Payton believes he can be in the Broncos offense. That would be a welcome addition to the Denver attack as they try to build on their 2024 playoff trip.
Read the full article here
