Bad news for fantasy football managers: Sean Payton doesn’t care about your team.
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix had a career-best game in Week 4 with 326 passing yards and three total touchdowns. He connected with nine different receivers as the offense cruised to a 28-3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Fantasy football managers were pleased by the production of wide receiver Courtland Sutton (five catches for 81 yards and a touchdown), but tight end Evan Engram (four catches for 29 yards) had another relatively quiet day. So, why hasn’t Engram been more involved?
“There are times where you definitely look to involve him, but we don’t come off a game like last week and then look at who got touches,” Payton said. “We’re not playing the fantasy game. We’re trying to win.
“Sometimes, I can recall over the years, big wins against tough teams and maybe a player like [Jimmy] Graham or Mike Thomas didn’t [get a lot of targets], and it’s not intentional. These guys are going to cloud Courtland [Sutton]. They’re going to put their best corner on him at times. Some of that is how that game unfolds.”
Not caring about fantasy football is a theme for Denver’s offense. The receivers take pride in their blocking that helps the run game, and Sutton has said there isn’t a focus on targets and receptions for individual players.
“Yes, we are receivers and pass catchers, but at the end of the day, we understand that it’s bigger than that,” Sutton said. “For us to be able to do our job on the outside is a lot of fun for us. I know fantasy owners hate me because I can give two … about that daggum fantasy, bro. I’m trying to go win games.”
If there’s a silver lining for fantasy football managers with Engram, it’s that he drew seven targets on Monday, second-most on the team. Engram has played in three games so far and it’s clear that he and Nix are not yet quite on the same page. That should improve over time, and Engram’s fantasy football stock could go up in the coming weeks. But through a small sample size of three games, Engram’s production has underwhelmed.
Social: Follow Broncos Wire on Facebook and Twitter/X! Did you know: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.
This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Fantasy Football: Sean Payton downplays Evan Engram’s production
