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Eric Ebron

Frank Reich excited about new tight end

I see that the Colts are talking up Eric Ebron. They signed him to a two-year deal worth $13 million, and they like what they’ve seen so far.

An article in the Indianapolis Star suggests Ebron has been lining up all over the place in workouts. When Frank Reich was coaching in Philadelphia, the Eagles made extensive use of their tight ends (since 2016, no team has completed more passes to the position). He could be thinking Ebron can do some of the same things as Zach Ertz.

“He’s really smart,” Reich said. “I knew that because we did our homework before he got here. We knew he was a smart player. But he’s like really a highly intelligent football player. And that’s really good because you want to use a guy with the versatility that he has and move him around and call all kinds of things with him. That helps. And he’s an explosive athlete.”

The Colts also have Jack Doyle, who had a pretty terrific season last year, catching 80 passes. But most were of the dumpoff variety. Ebron is more athletic, with more speed to get downfield. They might be thinking of using Doyle more as an in-line blocker, with Ebron tending to show up outside and in the slot – think Jordan Reed or Evan Engram.

I’m not promising this will happen, but it seems possible.

But Ebron’s got to catch the ball. He was plagued by drops with the Lions (who decided to release him rather than pick up his fifth-year option).

In the last four years, 33 tight ends have been targeted at least 100 times. Only two of those guys have dropped a higher percentage of passes than Ebron.

TIGHT END DROPS (2014-17)
PlayerRecDropTotPct
Zach Miller1010101.0%
Jordan Reed23032331.3%
Jason Witten27342771.4%
Greg Olsen25862642.3%
Cameron Brate12831312.3%
Dennis Pitta10231052.9%
Zach Ertz28592943.1%
Richard Rodgers12041243.2%
Antonio Gates20882163.7%
Heath Miller12651313.8%
Jack Doyle16971764.0%
Delanie Walker296133094.2%
Rob Gronkowski248112594.2%
Larry Donnell10751124.5%
Kyle Rudolph213102234.5%
Gary Barnidge14781555.2%
Benjamin Watson15591645.5%
Jermaine Gresham15091595.7%
Martellus Bennett228142425.8%
Travis Kelce307203276.1%
Charles Clay215152306.5%
Coby Fleener177131906.8%
Mychal Rivera10881166.9%
Will Tye9471016.9%
Jimmy Graham255202757.3%
Julius Thomas160131737.5%
Owen Daniels9481027.8%
Vernon Davis151131647.9%
Jared Cook175161918.4%
Austin Seferian-Jenkins105101158.7%
Eric Ebron186192059.3%
Lance Kendricks120131339.8%
Dwayne Allen901010010.0%

—Ian Allan

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