The Detroit Lions made a bold move when they selected North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron with the tenth overall pick in last year's draft. It was the highest a tight end had been drafted since the San Francisco 49ers used the No. 6 overall pick on Vernon Davis in 2006. Needless to say, the expectations for Ebron as a 6-foot-4 athletic pass-catcher in a passing offense were sky high.
But Ebron recorded just 25 receptions for 248 yards and one touchdown last year. Much less heralded tight ends such as Delanie Walker, Mychal Rivera and Timothy Wright far outperformed the top ten pick. So have the Lions softened on Ebron's potential or do they still think he's capable of being one of the best pass-catchers in the NFL?
Lions head coach Jim Caldwell showered Ebron with praise on Wednesday at the NFL Annual Meetings.
"I'm going to tell you something," Caldwell said of Ebron. "His offseason to this point has been pretty impressive.
"I'm anticipating, just because I know what he's been doing and etcetera, and what he's been working at, I'm anticipating a pretty significant rise in his performance."
Caldwell's comments make it clear that the Lions have no yet given up on the 21-year-old. However, he'll still have to showcase his progress on the field. Fantasy owners that are starting to think about the 2015 season should look elsewhere before that happens.
