College: North Carolina

Height: 6’4”

Weight: 245

Strengths

Athleticism: Ebron possess amazing athleticism which translates across his game.  His speed,  agility and body control is regularly on display by making acrobatic catches and defenders miss in the open field.  Ebron can line up in as a natural tight end as well as in the slot and out wide.

Hands: I would not go as far as saying Ebron has perfect hands – he makes the occasional concentration drop – but he has natural,  soft,  wide receiver type hands that allow him to rope in almost everything thrown his way.  He rarely uses his chest or body to catch the ball which is key to his success when catching in traffic.

Route running: Ebron is smooth in and out of his cuts and regularly creates separation.  On deeper routes the former Tar Heel sets up defenders well before breaking into the final stage of his route.  For jump balls his body positioning is very good and he high-points the ball without giving the defender a chance to make a play.

Weaknesses

Size: While his height is fine,  I believe Ebron will need to add a couple of pounds at the next level if he is to sustain the punishment from the hard-hitting NFL safeties.  While he does his best work in the slot,  today’s NFL still requires tight ends to be versatile and put their hand in the dirt to maximise the potential of the no-huddle offense.

Blocking: I believe Ebron is a better blocker than he is given credit for but it is clearly one of the weakest parts of his game.  While he is willing and understands the importance of body position when engaging his blocks,  Ebron struggles when he must move to meet a defender in the open field by reaching for the block and often misplacing his hands.

NFL Comparison

Jermichael Finley, Green Bay Packers: First of all,  Ebron is a much better player than Finley.  They are both uber-athletic and can make plays with the ball in their hands.  Ebron makes a lot of yards after the catch by making defenders miss and he has enough speed to stretch the field.  Thankfully,  Ebron can also catch the ball.

Draft Outlook

Ebron should beat Jace Amaro as the first tight end off the board in May – potentially inside the top 15.  He has the athleticism and flexibility that teams are looking for ever since Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham took over the NFL.  His willingness to block and throw his body into contact will convince teams they can improve his blocking and turn him into one of the best all-round tight ends in the league.

Best Fits

While they are not known for trading up in the Draft,  the New England Patriots spring to mind before anybody else.  They were the first team to open up the tight end position and have suffered since Aaron Hernandez’s arrest and Gronkowski’s bad run of injuries.  Tom Brady is not a deep passer and therefore a reliable tight end is more important than a wide receiver.

Other possible fits include the New York Giants,  Arizona Cardinals and the Green Bay Packers.