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If there is one key player on the Jacksonville Jaguars that is looking to take that next step this upcoming season, it has to be tight end Evan Engram. Ever since he came to Jacksonville, he has been very productive compared to the start of his career, but now he has a new goal heading into the fall.
While he has been an integral player on the offense used as a safety valve for star quarterback Trevor Lawrence, he wants to be way more than catching short routes. The 29-year old would say that he believes the “next level for me is to improve that intermediate, deep range” according to Michael DiRocco of ESPN.
“My role was underneath being the security blanket for Trevor underneath and getting the ball in my hands fast, getting up field and moving the chains,” Engram said. “I’ve done that really well and I think the next level for me is to improve that intermediate, deep range . . . Making more explosive plays, downfield, more touchdowns, being a bigger red zone target. Those are my goals. I think that can take it to a whole other level.”
Jaguars offensive coordinator discusses Engram being a deep threat
Engram was initially drafted by the New York Giants with the 23rd overall pick in 2017 and was there for the first five seasons of his career until he made his way to the Jaguars where he had statistically his best season in 2022 and even topped it in 2023. He caught 114 passes for 963 yards to go along with four touchdowns in 2023, but even the most eye-opening statistics was he would be targeted 143 times which was the most for any tight end in the league.
Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor would mention that while they want him to get him down the field more often, they also feel that Engram getting the “ball as quick as we can” is important to their offense. This could be the reason why even though he has well over 100 receptions, he has not eclipsed 1000 receiving yards which usually happens with those kind of numbers.
“Evan is such a dynamic ball carrier that a lot of it is to get him the ball as quick as we can, running away from people, but I think an element that he's always had is getting down the field,” Taylor said via ESPN. “Sometimes it's trying to find what the matchup is.”
“When we have a couple schemes where he gets on the second level quickly, he does a pretty good job in that stuff, so that's something we're just continuing to try to evolve,” Taylor continued. “But getting him the football quickly, things happen quickly and happen pretty well for him.”
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson knows Engram can take that leap
Another prominent figure within the Jaguars organization that knows Engram can love up to his aspirations is head coach Doug Pederson. He would even say that he is more than “capable” of being a threat down the field, but it us up to himself and the rest of the coaching staff to put “him in that position.”
“He's definitely capable of [making plays down the field]. He's shown that,” Pederson said. “We, as a staff, have got to put him in positions to do that. For a guy like Evan, I think that with his skillset, that would only help us with his ability to get down the field, with his speed, strong to the catch point, all that stuff. Again, I put it more on us as play callers and decision-makers to make sure that we are putting him in that position.”
Despite career-best seasons, Engram says “there's a lot more work to do”
Even with achieving career-highs last season, that is not enough for Engram as he wants to even accomplish even more going in to his third season with the Jaguars. There is no doubt he has improved the past few seasons, but admits that there is “a lot more work to do.”
“I want to keep going, I want even more,” he said. “It's definitely really cool to put two great seasons together back-to-back. And when you look at the greats that have been through this game that are in the game now, they do that year after year and I definitely feel I'm in the place to be able to do that, in the system to do that, the coaches, the quarterback, the team to continue to do that. So for me, definitely proud of what I put together, but there's a lot more work to do and a lot more for me to go get.”
Engram and the Jaguars are looking to improve after last season where they went 9-8 which put them second in the AFC South. They open the upcoming season against an in-state rival as they face the Miami Dolphins on the road on Sunday, Sept. 8.
