There is only one Joker in Denver. And he is not on the Broncos.
When Denver signed tight end Evan Engram, everyone assumed that he would post comic book numbers. Follow in the footsteps of Jimmy Graham and Jeremy Shockey. Become plaid on stripes. A walking mismatch.
Alas, that has not happened. Engram’s season has been underwhelming, and it long ago became pointless to hold him accountable to inflated personal statistics when he only plays 43% of the snaps.
The math — 41 catches, 359 yards, one touchdown in 13 games played— screams that he should be furious. The words and stories from Engram and his teammates say otherwise. He has become the symbol of the team’s unselfishness, a trait he shares in common with the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic.
“When you have a collection of high character guys, it is hard, for a lack of a better term, to be an (expletive),” defensive end Zach Allen said. “We have none of them. You are going to be the odd man out if you are.”
Engram’s humility is fascinating because it is so unusual. When a free agent signs as the solution to a problem and is barely a variable in the equation, disillusionment is expected.
Engram refuses to become a cliche, the diva who would rather lead the highlights in a loss than be a leader who fades into the background of a win.
“I think if you are going to sit around and sulk because your numbers aren’t perfect and you aren’t getting the ball, you want to make plays, but winning trumps all,” Engram said Wednesday. “No matter the situation, the game plan or the play, I am always going to be prepared.”
In a season when his statistics have gone down, he remains consistently upbeat. The people most peeved are fantasy league owners. And that, based on asking around the locker room, is not Engram’s reality.
“You don’t see the funny side of Evan. He’s a total jokester. Just funny. Witty. Likes to cut up with the guys. He’s been like that the whole year. He’s the best,” backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham said. “He has a great attitude. And that is how this locker room is. There is nobody in here who is selfish.”
Engram has made an impact, just not in the way expected. Most figured he would rank second in the team in targets behind Courtland Sutton. Instead, he has become the right-handed hitter in a platoon, left to make the most of limited opportunities.
Seems, we had it wrong all along.
The facts are that Payton described Engram as a joker, but he never promised big numbers. For three years, the thing with the coach is that however perplexing his deployment of weapons might be, everyone agrees he knows what he is doing. The Broncos are 17-4 in their last 21 regular-season games. They rank 11th in yards and 12th in points (24.4) per game this season.
Yes, it seems crazy that Engram has three catches in the past two games. But Denver is winning, and experiencing success running the ball with Bo Nix under center flanked by heavy personnel.
That has left Engram watching. A lot. He has logged 46 of 142 snaps the past two weeks. He has played 384 this season — he missed one game with an injury — compared to 527 for Adam Trautman.
And yet, the arrangement is working if you narrow the lens. Engram is on pace for 50 catches for 436 yards. Do you realize Trautman, Lucas Krull and Nate Adkins combined for 46 receptions and 455 yards last season?
Engram’s one touchdown looks bad. But maybe it was never going to look good given the evolution of the offense and his limited blocking chops.
Engram is Marvin Mims Jr. in many ways. A valuable asset used in big moments. As few as they might be.
As Engram prepares to face his former team Jacksonville, where he played 76% of the snaps, averaging 67.3 catches over the previous three seasons, the 31-year-old could be forgiven for second-guessing his free agent choice. That is how sports work now. Personal brand over team.
And it does not come up publicly or privately.
“It is example of why what we have here is so uncommon,” backup center Alex Forsyth said.
Rather than whine, Engram buries himself in film. He is well-known for taking his work home with him, studying tendencies of every player that might guard him that week, similar to how a pitcher sets up hitters with sequencing. It has paid off, just in moments, not stretches.
After expressing frustration against the Eagles, something Payton offered without asking, Engram caught a huge touchdown that powered the most impressive road comeback in franchise history.
Against the Jets in London, his first down reception on the most important fourth quarter drive restored confidence, leading to the game-winning field goal.
Against Washington, he burned linebacker Bobby Wagner, doing the reverse of an early route, the 41-yard gain setting up R.J. Harvey’s decisive score.
And last Sunday, his one-handed, 12-yard grab when the Broncos were trailing 23-21 kept the offense percolating.
So it doesn’t look like we all thought. But he has done stuff that nobody else in the tight end room has done and can do. Especially in the middle of the field, where he should find open spots on Sunday against the Jaguars’ zone defense.
Truth is, Engram has not lived up to the hype.
But it is all of us who are missing the point. He fits. It is just not the fit we envisioned. Facing his former team, he could grouse or demand targets.
Instead, he used this week to meet the press with modesty, and quietly donate $10,000 to his foundation empowering kids because it will be matched by the Broncos.
Want to know why Denver is going to the Super Bowl? It is because of guys like Engram, who has accepted a role never imagined for him.
The joke, it turns out, is on us.
“I just look at the commitment every single day that (the players) make when they come in here,” Engram said. “We have won 11 straight. There’s no complacency, no satisfaction. Personally, I have never been on team like this, having a season this good. This is definitely a special group.”
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