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Ebron stands out above the rest at TE
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_884a2162-3bba-595a-8569-4dbea5886617.html
When it comes to NFL tight ends, North Carolina’s Eric Ebron wants to be the next Vernon Davis.
“Because (of the) similarities,” Ebron said. “His speed. He’s powerful. He’s very strong at the line of scrimmage. Love everything about him.”
Davis was a star tight end in the Atlantic Coast Conference (at Maryland) before moving on to a flourishing pro career with the San Francisco 49ers.
Now comes Ebron, who broke Davis’ ACC single-season mark for reception yards by a tight end with 973 yards last year on 62 catches.
“I play fast,” Ebron said. “I’m a little bit faster than most.”
That he is. Ebron ran the 40 in 4.60 seconds at the NFL scouting combine, which is really moving for someone who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 250. It was the second-fastest time among tight ends at the combine this year, exceeded only by the 4.50 posted by Tennessee State’s A.C. Leonard.
But neither time compares to the sizzling 4.38 posted by Davis at the combine in 2006. That’s the kind of number posted by the fastest cornerbacks, wide receivers and running backs.
“Comparing (Ebron) to Vernon Davis, Vernon coming out of Maryland had just more rare explosiveness, just so fast,” NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said on a recent conference call.
But Jeremiah does think Ebron already has shown the potential to be a better route runner than Davis in the NFL.
“Vernon was a little bit tight as a route runner,” Jeremiah said. “There was some concern there — can he run every route, or is it all just going to be corners and seam routes? Is he going to be able to run those option routes underneath?”
Even now, most of Davis’ production comes from running away from the quarterback, as opposed to working back to him. Make no mistake, Ebron still has plenty of speed to get by safeties and linebackers down the seam. But he also comes in and out of his breaks smoother and cleaner than Davis, according to Jeremiah.
The tight end position has evolved over the last decade or so in the NFL, emphasizing pass-catching and formational versatility more than blocking. The elite tight ends are able to line up inline, out wide, in the slot and even in the backfield occasionally. It’s all about creating mismatches against the opposing defense.
But sooner or later, every tight end must do some blocking, and Ebron has been quizzed about his blocking skills, or lack thereof, by many NFL teams during the pre-draft process.
“They ask a lot,” Ebron said. “I tell them that I’ve been working hard on it — which I have — and that I’m not bad at it, which everyone thinks. But we’ll see.”
Most recently, ESPN’s Bill Polian, the former longtime general manager, criticized Ebron for his blocking. But Jeremiah, a former NFL scout, said Ebron will at least wall off or get in defenders’ way to get the job done.
“The people that want to rip some of these tight ends for blocking ... scouting every year when I did it for eight years, the topic would come up: ‘Hey, we’re looking for a good blocking tight end,’” Jeremiah said. “That discussion would last for about five minutes. We’d realize there weren’t any, and we’d move on.”
So yes, superb blocking tight ends are rare in this or any draft these days. But superb pass-catching tight ends with 4.6 speed are even rarer, and more in demand. That’s why in an otherwise so-so tight end class, Ebron is the only sure first-rounder. Some draftniks think he could squeeze into the top 10.
In many ways, Ebron’s skill set is tailor-made for today’s NFL, and he knows it.
“It’s become more demanding, the tight end position,” he said. “There’s become more of a need for talent, speed, and athleticism rather than big, bulky, just-blocking tight ends.
“It’s become a need of special people to play that position in order to create different mismatches and better offenses. So I feel like I fit right in.”
Not lacking for confidence, Ebron feels he’s one of the special ones. And Jeremiah doesn’t necessarily disagree.
“It’s rare you’d say a tight end is worth a top 10 pick, but I wouldn’t have any problem at all if he was a top 10 pick in this draft class,” Jeremiah said. “I think he’s going to be outstanding.”
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_884a2162-3bba-595a-8569-4dbea5886617.html
When it comes to NFL tight ends, North Carolina’s Eric Ebron wants to be the next Vernon Davis.
“Because (of the) similarities,” Ebron said. “His speed. He’s powerful. He’s very strong at the line of scrimmage. Love everything about him.”
Davis was a star tight end in the Atlantic Coast Conference (at Maryland) before moving on to a flourishing pro career with the San Francisco 49ers.
Now comes Ebron, who broke Davis’ ACC single-season mark for reception yards by a tight end with 973 yards last year on 62 catches.
“I play fast,” Ebron said. “I’m a little bit faster than most.”
That he is. Ebron ran the 40 in 4.60 seconds at the NFL scouting combine, which is really moving for someone who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 250. It was the second-fastest time among tight ends at the combine this year, exceeded only by the 4.50 posted by Tennessee State’s A.C. Leonard.
But neither time compares to the sizzling 4.38 posted by Davis at the combine in 2006. That’s the kind of number posted by the fastest cornerbacks, wide receivers and running backs.
“Comparing (Ebron) to Vernon Davis, Vernon coming out of Maryland had just more rare explosiveness, just so fast,” NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said on a recent conference call.
But Jeremiah does think Ebron already has shown the potential to be a better route runner than Davis in the NFL.
“Vernon was a little bit tight as a route runner,” Jeremiah said. “There was some concern there — can he run every route, or is it all just going to be corners and seam routes? Is he going to be able to run those option routes underneath?”
Even now, most of Davis’ production comes from running away from the quarterback, as opposed to working back to him. Make no mistake, Ebron still has plenty of speed to get by safeties and linebackers down the seam. But he also comes in and out of his breaks smoother and cleaner than Davis, according to Jeremiah.
The tight end position has evolved over the last decade or so in the NFL, emphasizing pass-catching and formational versatility more than blocking. The elite tight ends are able to line up inline, out wide, in the slot and even in the backfield occasionally. It’s all about creating mismatches against the opposing defense.
But sooner or later, every tight end must do some blocking, and Ebron has been quizzed about his blocking skills, or lack thereof, by many NFL teams during the pre-draft process.
“They ask a lot,” Ebron said. “I tell them that I’ve been working hard on it — which I have — and that I’m not bad at it, which everyone thinks. But we’ll see.”
Most recently, ESPN’s Bill Polian, the former longtime general manager, criticized Ebron for his blocking. But Jeremiah, a former NFL scout, said Ebron will at least wall off or get in defenders’ way to get the job done.
“The people that want to rip some of these tight ends for blocking ... scouting every year when I did it for eight years, the topic would come up: ‘Hey, we’re looking for a good blocking tight end,’” Jeremiah said. “That discussion would last for about five minutes. We’d realize there weren’t any, and we’d move on.”
So yes, superb blocking tight ends are rare in this or any draft these days. But superb pass-catching tight ends with 4.6 speed are even rarer, and more in demand. That’s why in an otherwise so-so tight end class, Ebron is the only sure first-rounder. Some draftniks think he could squeeze into the top 10.
In many ways, Ebron’s skill set is tailor-made for today’s NFL, and he knows it.
“It’s become more demanding, the tight end position,” he said. “There’s become more of a need for talent, speed, and athleticism rather than big, bulky, just-blocking tight ends.
“It’s become a need of special people to play that position in order to create different mismatches and better offenses. So I feel like I fit right in.”
Not lacking for confidence, Ebron feels he’s one of the special ones. And Jeremiah doesn’t necessarily disagree.
“It’s rare you’d say a tight end is worth a top 10 pick, but I wouldn’t have any problem at all if he was a top 10 pick in this draft class,” Jeremiah said. “I think he’s going to be outstanding.”