12 Games Into Rookie Year, First-Round Pick Eric Ebron Reflects On His Progress

By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak

ALLEN PARK (CBS DETROIT) - Thirteen weeks into his rookie season, Detroit Lions tight end Eric Ebron has hauled in 19 catches for 171 yards.

Other pass-catching rookies - wide receivers Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans and Odell Beckham Jr. among them - have made much bigger splashes. The instant impact of those players and others has prompted some fans to criticize Ebron for not producing more this season.

Ebron understands the high expectations that accompany first-round draft picks, but he has a positive outlook on what he has accomplished so far.

"I can't be more happy that I'm playing," Ebron said. "I can't complain. I'm playing a really, really tough position, and the coaches, general manager, everybody has confidence in me. You can see it every day. It just grows and grows, and as long as I keep doing my thing, the more opportunities, the more things will open up, the more trust, the more confidence I'll get."

Ebron said most of his growth has come in the mental part of the game. Lions head coach Jim Caldwell concurred, saying that while outsiders might not be able to see Ebron's progress in games and portions of practices, the staff sees it daily.

"That position requires that you know pass protection, it requires that you know the inside receiver's routes, as well as the outside receiver's, as well as the tight end position, [and] all of the blocking schemes that are inherent within that position as well," Caldwell said. "It's not an easy task, and for a young guy coming in, with that amount of information, you see them just steadily get a little bit better all of the time. We see it on the practice field.

"He's more comfortable with things where he's not thinking nearly as much and it'll be more reaction," Caldwell said. "Sometimes it takes a little while to get to that point where everything is sort of an adjustment that way. But I do think he's climbing. We see it, the improvements in those areas that I just mentioned, on a daily basis. I think the more comfortable he becomes, the better you're going to see him perform."

Since returning from the hamstring injury that sidelined him for a month, Ebron has produced steadily - 22 yards against Arizona, 23 yards against New England and 23 yards against Chicago. The tight end said he continues to develop a rapport with quarterback Matthew Stafford.

"It's getting there," Ebron said. "It's going to develop. He's been with Calvin [Johnson] forever, Golden Tate's been here, he understands the game, so you automatically trust him. I'm building it every day working with him. Every day we're talking, we're talking after plays, we're talking about plays. It's building. As long as it keeps building, we'll one day get there."

Ebron said fellow tight ends Joe Fauria and Brandon Pettigrew have helped ease his transition from college to the NFL.

"The spread offense [in college], there wasn't as many key points, as many details you needed to worry about," Ebron said. "Now it's very nit-picky, very detailed, and I've got great help from Joe and from Grew of helping me mold into the things that I'm doing now, to help me learn and to help me progress into being the tight end that everybody wants and expects me to be."

Caldwell said he believes Ebron's improvement will become more evident soon.

"There's nothing that tells me that he can't make a big jump here toward the end of the year," Caldwell said. "I think he's moving in that direction."