Detroit Lions: What’s Next For Tight End Eric Ebron?

Eric Ebron is approaching a turning point in his NFL career as the Detroit Lions decide where he fits into the franchise’s plans for the future.

It has been an interesting NFL journey for Eric Ebron. When the Detroit Lions selected the former North Carolina tight end with the 10th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, the projection was that he would immediately slot in as a high-volume target for quarterback Matthew Stafford. With Calvin Johnson and the newly-signed Golden Tate in the mix, the 6-4, 250-pound Ebron was expected to feast on single coverage, and make an enormous impact on the Lions’ passing game in his rookie year.

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out exactly as planned. Despite occasionally flashing the fantastic athleticism that made him a high first-round pick, Ebron’s rookie year never really took off in the manner the team expected. Drops, mental mistakes, and injuries hindered his potential, limiting him to 13 appearances and a final stat line of 25 receptions for 248 yards and one touchdown.

However, a rookie pass-catcher struggling is nothing out of the ordinary in the NFL, and hopes remained high for Ebron as he entered his sophomore season in 2015. While there were still some struggles in Year 2, he appeared in a career-high 14 games and improved his statistical output in every major category, finishing with 47 receptions for 537 yards and five touchdowns.

In Year 3, Ebron took on an even larger role in the passing game. With 61 receptions and 711 yards in 2016, he easily bested his career highs from a year earlier, although he only scored one receiving touchdown in the process. For the first time in his career, Ebron started every single contest he appeared in, although once again, injuries limited him to 13 games.

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To this point, his career clearly hasn’t gone perfectly, but there certainly appears to be ample reason for optimism. In fact, Ebron recently stated that his goals for 2017 are to stay healthy and reach 1,000 receiving yards for the first time. While this might seem like a lofty projection, when looking at Ebron’s steady yardage increases over his first three seasons, 1,000 yards isn’t an unattainable goal by any means.

However, as Ebron enters his fourth season in the NFL, the general public doesn’t seem to share his optimism, and he still seems to be faced with more questions about his future than he should be. In spite of the fact that his reception and yardage totals have increased substantially in every season of his career, he still doesn’t seem to be held in very high regard by pundits or fans.

Maybe this has to to with his relatively modest seven career receiving touchdowns. Maybe it has to do with his propensity for the occasional drop, his lack of blocking ability, or because he has missed time due to injury in every season of his career. Perhaps the most likely reason is that Ebron was selected when All-Pro caliber players like Odell Beckham and Aaron Donald were still on the board in the 2014 NFL Draft.

Ultimately, the general consensus in league circles seems to be that the Lions need to see more from Ebron before committing to him long-term. Recent reports indicate that general manager Bob Quinn is undecided about picking up Ebron’s fifth-year option (per mlive.com) for the 2018 season.

Adding fuel to the speculation about Ebron’s future is the fact that the Lions are rumored to be looking at first-round tight end prospects (per The Detroit News) like O.J. Howard and David Njoku. While this is likely just another case of pre-draft smoke and mirrors, the fact that it’s even being discussed seems perplexing.

To be certain, Howard and Njoku are top-notch options in their own right, but Ebron remains the team’s best bet at tight end, now and into the future. With that being said, the recent addition of blocking tight end Darren Fells will likely quell any concerns about the team addressing the position with a high pick, and ensure that Ebron gets another chance to prove himself in 2017.

The reality of the situation is that Ebron is still a very young player. In fact, even after three seasons in the NFL, he has yet to turn 24. There will be rookies coming into the league this year that are already older than him. The Lions drafted Ebron with the mindset that he was an athletically gifted, albeit somewhat raw pass-catching tight end, and that’s exactly what he has proven to be.

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With size, strength, and 4.60 speed, his upside continues to be through the roof. With every year, his production has improved, and his chemistry with Stafford has grown by leaps and bounds as well. There’s no way to predict what Ebron will accomplish in 2017, but as his maturation as a player begins to catch up with his sensational athletic profile, he could prove to be special for a very long time. The Detroit Lions invested heavily in Eric Ebron back in 2014. Now is not the time to give up on him.