As a college junior, Engram was the go-to receiver on Penn State's undefeated 1994 team. Wearing #10, he was quarterback Kerry Collins' favorite target. He garnered All-American honors and won the first-ever Biletnikoff Award, recognizing the nation's best wide receiver. Engram was the Nittany Lions' career receptions leader until 2008, when Deon Butler passed his mark of 167. He is still the all-time leader in yards and touchdowns with 3,026 yards and 31 touchdowns. He also racked up 786 career punt return yards for the Nittany Lions, ranking him second in school history. Engram missed the 1992 season as punishment from head-coach Joe Paterno, when he was charged with being involved in a college apartment burglary with teammate Ricky Sayles. Sayles and Engram went into an apartment and removed a stereo. However, the police investigation assumed that Sayles was the instigator behind the burglary and Engram may have been led to believe that he and Sayles were authorized to take the stereo. Consequently, Engram was allowed to complete a pre-trial diversionary program and the charges were later dropped. Sayles, on the other hand, was permanently dismissed from the team. He earned a Bachelor of Science in exercise science from Penn State in 1995.
NFL career
Chicago Bears
Engram was drafted in the 2nd round of the 1996 NFL Draft, 52nd overall to the Chicago Bears. In his rookie season, he had 33 receptions for 389 yards and 6 touchdown catches. He also returned kicks. In 1999, he had his first 10-reception game in week 15 with 10 receptions for 94 yards and a touchdown, following this with a franchise-record 13 receptions 143 yards and two touchdowns. The following season, he had just 16 receptions in three games before injury ended his 5 seasons with the Bears.
Seattle Seahawks
Engram signed with the Seattle Seahawks before the 2001 season. He would spend 8 seasons with the Seahawks and reached the 1,000-yard receiving threshold in 2007, which was the only 1,000-yard season of his career. Despite being a starter in only 67 of the 109 games he played with Seattle, Engram ranks fifth in franchise history in receptions and fourth in receiving yards. His 94 receptions in 2007 is a Seahawks single-season record, and he led the team in catches during the team's Super Bowl XL season in 2005 with 67. Engram was named to the Seahawks’ 35th Anniversary Team in May 2011.
Engram and his wife Deanna have four children, one of whom was born with sickle-cell disease and died in 2018. In October 2006, Engram was diagnosed with Graves' disease. His subsequent accelerated heart rate, debilitating fatigue, and weight loss caused him to miss a significant amount of playing time during the 2006 season. When playing games in the Pennsylvania cities of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Engram laced his shoes with white shoelaces as opposed to the regular black as a tribute to the old-school beliefs of his college coach, Joe Paterno.
