Evan Engram Sheds Light on Franchise Tag Issues for Tight Ends

A tight end in the NFL holds a great deal of value. They are expected to be proficient blockers in both the running and passing game, a safety blanket for the quarterback, and in some cases handle large target shares.

This value is not reflected in the value of the franchise tag for the position.

The current franchise tag value for the tight end position is $11.345 million, third lowest in the league behind kickers/punters and running backs per Spotrac.

Relative to those positions, an argument can be made that the gap in franchise tag value should be wider, especially with the amount of responsibility that tight ends take on.

Financially speaking, it makes for a confusing predicament for the tight end position. Recently tagged Jaguars tight end Evan Engram took to Twitter to express his confusion on the matter.

This is a very confusing reality for the TE position today https://t.co/hRCMr0XweC
— Evan Engram (@eazyengram) March 3, 2023

Looking back at 2022, three tight ends were slapped with the franchise tag, valued then at approximately $10.9 million; Dalton Schultz, David Njoku, and Mike Gesicki, each a known receiving threat for their respective franchises.

This positional debate and value between receivers and tight ends has been an ongoing theme, especially since tight ends such as Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews serve as the number one option in their offenses. Though this is rare, it is still a factor prevalent in the modern NFL.

When speaking to SiriusXM NFL Radio in February prior to being tagged, Engram stated that he views the franchise tag as a temporary solution, with a long-term deal being the end goal for fair compensation.

“It's a hypothetical. So it could happen, it could not. But you know, if that happens, I think that'll be a placeholder, you know, to get something done,” Engram said. “I think that’s kind of just the way I feel about it. "And if it does come to that, you know, there'll be conversations had with my team and we'll move forward from there, but if that does happen, I'm gonna be blessed either way, and we'll figure something out long- a term that can mean that both sides will be happy with this."