Bobby Engram

After a stellar college career at Penn State University, wideout Simon J. Engram III was chosen by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 1996 NFL Draft. He was the 52nd pick overall. He is fondly called as “Bobby”. Presently, he is a free agent.

At Penn State, Engram was an All-American and the winner of the first-ever Biletnikoff Award (1994), which is given to the top college receiver in the country. He still holds the school records for catches (167), receiving yards (3,026) and receiving touchdowns (31). He also garnered 786 punt return yards.

Engram played for the Chicago Bears from 1996-2000 and has been with the Seattle Seahawks since 2001 to 2008. Post this, he played for the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns team. In 12 professional seasons, he has appeared in 158 games, catching 598 passes for 7,201 yards (12.0 YPC) and 35 touchdowns. He’s fumbled 13 times, losing eight. He’s also returned 101 punts for 1,053 yards and two TDs and 30 kicks for 643 yards. As of 2009, he made 650 receptions of 7,751 yards of 35 touchdowns.

The undersized Engram, who is five-foot-ten and 192 pounds, has managed to create a fine career in the NFL. He’s an exacting route runner, a smart coverage analyzer and a skilled receiver with fine hands and a good enough burst to separate him from defenders. However, his size has worked against him, especially when it comes to minor but nagging injuries. He does not possess enough speed to maintain his distance between himself and pass defenders. He’s best when used as a number three receiver, but he can sub nicely as a one or two pass catcher. Although he’s seen his speed diminish, he possesses the smarts to readjust his game, using the knowledge he’s accumulated over the years.