(02-27-2023, 12:16 PM)VillagerChris Wrote: Engram is replaceable.

All of our skill positions are going to play well under Pederson and Lawrence.

Kirk, Jones and Ridley are tying up a lot of money in the receiving room.

With so many weapons plus Ridley, Engrams targets/production is sure to drop a bit and that's not going to be his fault. At best he gives us a similar season.

Why pay Engram 13-15m per year when you can draft a top tier TE at 1/24 and only pay 2.5m for the season?

Any TE taken at 24, be it Musgrave, Kincaid, Meyer.. maybe even Washington, will thrive under Pederson's offense with Trevor throwing the ball. They will cost 1/5th of what Engram will cost.

There's the shiny thing in front of you... and then there's the "big picture".

I have to respectfully disagree with this. I know Pederson knows how to utilize tight ends better than most coaches, however he still needs to have something to work with talent-wise. Engram does have a unique skill-set which makes him almost like another wide receiver. He has great rapport with Lawrence and is only 28. It's true that the Jaguars can draft the guys you mentioned in round 1 to replace him, but there are a couple problems with that. First, why replace a very productive player in his prime with an unknown commodity? The Jaguars have never had a tight end with the productivity of Engram which we shouldn't take for granted. Just as important, if the Jaguars take a tight end in round 1 to replace Engram, they will miss the opportunity to draft someone at a position of real need such as pass rusher, corner/nickel or offensive line. Sure, Engram will make a good chunk of money, but the Jaguars should have little trouble paying him once they cut Griffin and re-structure other high salary players. By the way, even after the Jaguars re-sign Engram I wouldn't be averse to taking a tight end in round 1 like Mayer if he was at the top of their board. Having Mayer and Engram on the field together would make Pederson's offense very hard to stop on passing downs, especially. Keeping Engram enables the team to take the BAP and possibly not having to reach for a tight end in rounds 1 or 2.

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