KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Evan Engram was a day early on making major news for the Giants.
Just when it seemed that everybody on the outside was ready to ship off the polarizing tight end for a late-round draft pick at Tuesday’s 4 p.m. trade deadline, Engram caught a go-ahead, 5-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter Monday night against the Chiefs. It wasn’t enough for the Giants, who allowed the final six points of a 20-17 loss, to drop their record to 2-6 and take the form of sellers if the market is right.
With the Giants worn down to the threads due to injuries at receiver, Daniel Jones threw both his touchdown passes to tight ends — a 1-yarder to Kyle Rudolph in the first half to tie the score at 7-7 and then the one to Engram for a 17-14 lead. It was the first target of the game for Engram.
Whether it was his final act before a trade, or the start of tapping into mouth-watering athletic potential, or just one moment in time, Engram’s catch came with a high degree of difficulty as Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen dove into the sight line and just missed tipping the ball.
Engram let out an animalistic scream — maybe for two years of frustration — as he crossed the goal line.
“I have a lot more sense of urgency,” Engram told The Post this past week.
Jones, other teammates and coaches always insist that they have lost no confidence in Engram, even as the fan base has made him the poster boy for the team’s five-year slump coinciding with his arrival as a first-round pick in 2017. He was booed in an open practice during training camp and cheered when he subbed out of a September home game.
The throw to Engram in that clutch spot proved the belief in him still exists.
After leading all NFL tight ends with eight drops last season — making his first career Pro Bowl selection seem like a mistake — Engram worked on better catching the ball away with his hands before it gets too close to his body. The results have slowly shown up in some tough grabs with hands in the diamond position and only one drop to go with a lost fumble.
“I’ve just been putting in the work,” Engram said. “I’m challenging myself each week to find new things to work on. You have to make the tough catches, have to make the easy catches.”’
Engram, who is playing on the final year of his contract, added two more catches for 10 yards later in the fourth.
The Bills and Packers are two Super Bowl contenders who lost starting tight ends — Dawson Knox and Robert Tonyan, respectively — to injuries and figure to be in the market for an upgrade at tight end before the deadline.