The Jacksonville Jaguars released Evan Engram ahead of free agency. His departure paves the way for Brenton Strange to be TE1 next season. Based on how he played in 2024, it's fair to say that he's ready to step into a feature role. But as promising as the former Penn State Nittany Lion looked, a local beat writer asks fans to temper expectations.
Early in free agency, Strange was brought up as a riser. This is understandable when you take into account that he'll take on many of the offensive snaps that previously went to Evan Engram. However, Gus Logue of 1010 caught wind of the post and responded that he doesn't think his number of targets will increase considerably.
John Shipley of Sports Illustrated joined the convo and echoed the same sentiment, pointing out that he wouldn't be shocked if the third-year tight end finishes fifth in receptions for the Jags.
"People don't seem to get the tight end's role in the offense now because they were Doug-pilled about the TE getting a million targets," Shipley said on Twitter. "Top TE could easily be fifth in receptions next year imo."
People don’t seem to get the tight end’s role in the offense now bc they were Doug-pilled about the TE getting a million targets. Top TE could easily be fifth in receptions next year imo
— John Shipley (@_John_Shipley) March 14, 2025
For the sake of transparency, Shipley was being hyperbolic when he said that tight ends get a million targets on Doug Pederson's offense. Nevertheless, the point still stands. Engram was targeted 143 times in 2023, and Zach Ertz, on Pederson's offense, had a combined 691 targets from 2015 to 2020.
It's also important to point out that Shipley isn't saying Strange isn't any good. He's simply stating that he'll have a bigger snap count but not necessarily a target share.
In fact, Shipley recently wrote an article about how the Jaguars are set to lean more heavily on the West Virginia native next season.
Strange was mostly a non-factor as a rookie, hauling in five receptions for 35 yards with one touchdowns. However, he was thrust into action when Engram tore his labrum and showed up, logging 40 catches for 411 yards with two touchdowns.
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The Jaguars are confident Brenton Strange is ready to step in
Evan Engram was a mainstay of the Jacksonville offense and a veteran presence in the locker room. However, the Jaguars released him in free agency to have "the flexibility to address the larger scale roster." General manager James Gladstone said as much in his last exchange with the press corps. In the same exchange, he spoke highly of Brenton Strange, noting that he's an ascending talent ready to take the next step.
"I think any fan that's following closely would label Brenton as somebody who's ascending and ready to take another step given the opportunity to do so," Gladstone told the local media. "He is someone who embodies exactly what we're hunting up, so we're glad to have him already on the roster. His strain, his finish on blocks, is something that we're really excited about. When he's got the ball in his hands, he's not interested in going down when the first defender approaches."
Below's Gladstone's press conference after free agency. His remarks about Strange start at the 6:01 mark.
And in case there were doubts the Jaguars expect big things from Strange, they added Johnny Mundt, and Hunter Long in free agency. While they add depth at tight end, neither is in the same echelon as Strange, let alone Evan Engram.
It's easy to forget it now, but the Brenton Strange pick didn't look great early on. Fast forward to 2025, and the decision looks considerably better.
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