So this discussion I do like. A rookie with 700 yards on 115 targets is kind of frustrating. If we stay away from the WR comparison (because that's just ridiculous), and stick with the Ertz comparison (because that is a more fair comparison), he had 110 targets and 824 yards in 2017. He averages 7.7 yards per target to Engram's 6.2. By all accounts, Engram has to get better with his catch rate if those targets remain.
I think it would be interesting to go back to game logs without OBJ and see how the targets were distributed. In the end, however, I don't think anyone needs to be concerned about targets decreasing much
Consider this: Last year was Eli's least number of attempts since OBJ joined the team, by about 35 attempts on average. So one could say there are more attempts left on the table from the 2017 team for the 2018 team.
Let's say Eli throws below average for attempts in the OBJ days and only throws 600 attempts
OBJ gets 180 targets (career high), then Shepard gets 100 (close to 2016), Barkley 130 (what Vereen, Gallman, and Darkwa got last year)
Let's say Roger Lewis gets 50 as the WR3
even if you throw in another 40-50 for random Wr4/TE2/RB2-3 targets... we are still left with ~100 unaccounted targets that likely go to Engram. And that's assuming career high for OBJ and a below average year in attempts by Manning in the OBJ era.
I think Engram is a lock for at least 100 targets even if he is 3rd or 4th man in the pecking order
Will Tye, for crying out loud, had 70 targets in 2016. Engram is a much better receiver than Will Tye.