Eric Ebron won’t talk himself up, won’t trumpet himself as the best tight end in the upcoming NFL Draft. His name is sure to be the first one called at his position Thursday night, likely near the middle of the first round, possibly by the Giants, who do not have a tight end on their roster that scares anyone, other than Giants fans, that is.
“I’m not going to sell myself but I’m very fast, I’m very different,’’ Ebron said at the NFL scouting combine. “I play the tight end role like no one else. I just do different things than other tight ends do. If you watch film you’ll probably say the same thing.”
The Giants have watched plenty of film on Ebron and no doubt like what they’ve seen. Scouts say things like “big-time talent’’ about a player who in three years at North Carolina broke Vernon Davis’ ACC record for receiving yards and is often likened to the 49ers’ dynamic game-breaker. At 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, he’s a finely-tuned athlete with all the skills to be a prolific NFL receiver. He’s not an accomplished in-line blocker but can go on the outside or in the slot and pose a mismatch advantage against most any linebacker.
It isn’t exactly shocking anyone that Ebron said he has tried to pattern his game after 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.”
Ebron to the Giants makes so much sense because they do not have a legitimate tight end threat on the roster, with Kellen Davis (a free agent signing from the Bears) and veteran addition Daniel Fells joining young holdovers Adrien Robinson and Larry Donnell. The need is there but the desire might not be. The predecessor of Giants general manager Jerry Reese, Ernie Accorsi, eagerly traded up in the first round in 2002 to select Jeremy Shockey, but Reese has shown no predilection to extend himself for any tight end.
Interestingly, Ebron was born in Newark, grew up a Giants fan (before moving to Greenboro, N.C.) and says Shockey is his all-time favorite player.
Reese’s approach to finding tight ends has usually been something akin to grabbing a megaphone and shouting “Attention K-Mart shoppers.’’ The guy has always looked for a bargain, which tells you plenty about what value Reese attaches to tight ends.
In Reese’s first draft in 2007 he took Kevin Boss in the fifth round and that worked out great — Boss played a significant role as a rookie on a Super Bowl-winning team, until he incurred one too many concussions. In 2009, Reese used a third-round pick on Travis Beckham out of Wisconsin, envisioning him as a sleek, pass-catching weapon. Beckum caught 26 passes in four years, tore up his knee in Super Bowl XLVII, was out of football last season and is trying to make a comeback with the Seahawks. In 2012, Reese took the physically-imposing Robinson out of Cincinnati in the fourth round, but in two years he has spent more time in the trainer’s room than on the field.
Reese made a nice move by finding Jake Ballard as an undrafted free agent, but that story ended when Ballard, like Beckum, shredded a knee against the Patriots in the Super Bowl in Indianapolis. The inexpensive 2012 veteran free-agent signing of Martellus Bennett was productive, but then Reese didn’t make a bid to keep Bennett, who signed with the Bears. Bear Pascoe was on the scene since 2009 as a useful but limited backup, but he recently signed with the Falcons.
When a question last week to Reese was prefaced by the observation that the Giants historically have often relied on a tight end, Reese appeared flabbergasted. “Historically we’ve relied on our tight end?’’ Reese asked.
“Well, they’ve had a prominent role,’’ was the response.
“Really?’’ Reese shot back.
That does not sound like a general manager who with his first-round pick is intent on taking a tight end. Based on his track record, the more expected move by Reese is to wait until the second round to take Notre Dame’s impressive Troy Niklas or wait until the third round and select Iowa’s C.J. Fiedorowicz, who projects as a powerful blocker.