Broncos TE Evan Engram on track to play vs. Bengals, still has ‘trust’ in team’s plan for him

Evan Engram has been through the high of the highest and the lowest of the low, ex-Giants tight end coach Lunda Wells put it this offseason. These days, he tends to stay somewhere in between.

The Broncos’ much-hyped tight end is back on track to play in Week 4, after two straight days of full participation in practice. It’s a Monday night chance to stabilize an early tenure in Denver that hasn’t gone to plan. In Week 1, the 31-year-old tweaked his calf . In Week 2, his back “flared up,” as Engram told The Denver Post on Friday.

Engram said his back “feels good” on Friday, though, and largely shrugged off his rocky start.

“I feel like God just kinda throws little curveballs at you sometimes,” Engram told The Post. “And I just take pride in responding to it the best way I can. And I think everything’s leading in the right direction.”

After missing last week’s practices and game against the Chargers, the Broncos’ self-dubbed “cleaner” has returned to tidy up a messy offensive kitchen in Denver. Quarterback Bo Nix has lacked a consistent option over the middle, beyond Courtland Sutton on crossing routes. The Broncos still have yet to get any passing-game production from their tight ends, a room with a collective 10 catches for 63 yards.

That lack of production is precisely why the Broncos signed Engram back in March. In the two games he’s played, though, Engram’s been on the field less than half of Denver’s offensive snaps — and coach Sean Payton made clear last week that injuries hadn’t played a factor in his on-field role.

“I don’t know if there’s anything that hasn’t clicked,” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said Friday. “I think, a little bit like the running backs, we’ve got a bunch of tight ends that we like. And they all do different things well.

“But, yeah — we’re aware of what that guy’s strengths are. And he’ll be getting going here real soon.”

Engram nodded when asked if he feels there’s a plan to escalate his usage.

“I really do,” he told The Post. “That’s one of the big reasons why I came here, is because I trust the coaches. I trust their plan for me. And I think new things like this take time.”

Engram noted it took a “couple weeks” to find his groove when he first arrived in Jacksonville in 2022, after playing five years with the New York Giants. Indeed, in his third and fourth games of that first year with the Jaguars, Engram had a combined two catches on four targets .