Pre-Draft News Items

[FearTheCats]

Wonder what will happen with Dickson if Ebron falls to 28 and we pick him.

[PantherMan89]

Biggest knock on Ebron and causing his "fall" was that he's really a wr in a te body. Said he would not line up on the line

[Mr. Scot]

Criticisms I've heard and seen regarding Ebron...

 

- not all that special as far as size/speed combo (compared to guys like Jimmy Graham, for example)

- blocking is weak; doesn't even block as well as many wide receivers

- may not match up well against NFL defenders

- can be overly boisterous and self-aggrandizing to the point of annoying teammates

- some question whether he'll "put in the work" as a pro

 

One NFL exec referred to him as an overrated "pain in the butt" (went on to say the entire TE class was weak).

 

Are these criticisms valid?  If so, I'd have to say the idea doesn't exactly thrill me.

 

[TylerVagyler]

Bob McGinn's write up on Ebron:

 

 

 

1. ERIC EBRON, North Carolina (6-4½, 252, 4.58, 1) — Third-year junior often compared to the 49ers' Vernon Davis. "Vernon is more sudden and compact," said one scout. "Twitchy. Eric's fluid. Where Eric makes his mark is being deceptive, running in gears and transitioning well in and out of breaks. I think he has special hands. You see him making one-handed palm of the ball in traffic. He has a chance to be an exceptional player, especially the way the game's played now." Two-year starter with 112 catches for 1,805 yards (16.1) and eight TDs. "He's a top-10 talent," another scout said. "He's as talented a tight end as has come out in the last five years." Played most of his career flanked wide or in the slot. "He's not a great big bulky guy but he'll block," another scout said. "Watch him against (Jadeveon) Clowney. He didn't win but he wasn't afraid. He's (Rob) Gronkowski-like but he's a lot smoother." From Greensboro, N.C. "In this new-fangled tight end position he can stretch the field and be a matchup issue," a third scout said. "He's better than (Jermichael) Finley and (Tyler) Eifert." Wonderlic of 16.

 

[Mr. Scot]

One thing I haven't seen anyone question: Ebron's hands.

[KJ89]

Are these criticisms valid? If so, I'd have to say the idea doesn't exactly thrill me.

the idea of Cam didn't exactly thrill you either.

[panthers55]

Ebron would be great pickup for us and would solve the TE/WR issue.  He would help with the run game as well as the passing game.  Lets be honest here, blocking technique is not hard to learn at all.  Blocking is about wanting to do it and having somewhat of a mean streak trying to level the other guy.  Guys who are poor blockers don't value or like to do it.  Most times it isn't that they can't. Sure leverage and good technique are important but not all that hard to figure out.

[MeatSoda]

Ebron would be great pickup for us and would solve the TE/WR issue.  He would help with the run game as well as the passing game.  Lets be honest here, blocking technique is not hard to learn at all.  Blocking is about wanting to do it and having somewhat of a mean streak trying to level the other guy.  Guys who are poor blockers don't value or like to do it.  Most times it isn't that they can't. Sure leverage and good technique are important but not all that hard to figure out.

 

This is just dumb.

[CarolinaNCSU]

One thing I haven't seen anyone question: Ebron's hands.

 

Really? I've seen it a lot. Mayock and others have mentioned it I know, just Goggle it. He has a lot of "focus drops". If I'm not mistaken, his drop rate of around 11-12% is the highest out of all top TE prospects this year. Ebron makes the spectacular catch, and drops the easy ones. Hands/focus are without a doubt a question mark. 

[Mr. Scot]

Really? I've seen it a lot. Mayock and others have mentioned it I know, just Goggle it. He has a lot of "focus drops". If I'm not mistaken, his drop rate of around 11-12% is the highest out of all top TE prospects this year. Ebron makes the spectacular catch, and drops the easy ones. Hands/focus are without a doubt a question mark. 

 

I have seen people question his focus and concentration, but he hardly drops anything when he's on.

 

The question becomes how much is he 'on' and how much is he 'off'.

 

[Mr. Scot]

This from Jonathan Jones

 

Jonathan Jones ‏@jjones9 17m

Btw, NFL Network will have a camera in the Panthers draft room on Thursday night

 

 

That'll be fun to watch :D

[Growl]

This from Jonathan Jones

That'll be fun to watch :D

It would be, except we'll get the annual 9 minutes and 57 seconds of Cowboys coverage while we're on the clock and then a cutaway to commercial break as our pick is about to be announced.

We may get to see a 3 second snippet of Rivera on the phone as they inform their viewing audience who we picked before diving into Patriots coverage for the next hour.

[Growl]

I'd like to see a live feed at all times from the team website. Mute it and don't point it at anything sensitive and were golden.

[panthers55]

This is just dumb.

What is dumb is thinking that blocking is that hard or difficult.  It is all about leverage and angles which are totally learned.  Sure brute size and strength are big pluses but any veteran will tell you that no matter how big or strong a rookie is, he is usually abused when he first gets into the league because he has poor technique.  That is totally learned but it is not the reason that many tight ends or wide receivers don't block well.  THey don't do it because it is not glamorous and doesn't show up in the stat line.  There is little credit and there are no NFL stats for wide receivers regarding blocking.  Guys who do it well take pride in the contact and think it is a big deal and practice it the same as they do catching the ball or running routes.

 

But is it hard to learn or difficult?  Not at all.  It just takes dedication and practice doing in every day.  It is a mindset as much as anything.