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According to Adam Schefter, the Detroit Lions are listening to trade offers for tight end Eric Ebron. The former 10th pick overall in the 2014 NFL Draft has generally been a disappointment through his first four seasons, but he is still just 24 years old and could be a “late bloomer” having come out of college at such a young age.
Eric Ebron Career Stats
| Year | Team | REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
| 2017 | Lions | 53 | 574 | 10.8 | 44 | 4 |
| 2016 | Lions | 61 | 711 | 11.7 | 61 | 1 |
| 2015 | Lions | 47 | 537 | 11.4 | 55 | 5 |
| 2014 | Lions | 25 | 248 | 9.9 | 22 | 1 |
| Career | 186 | 2,070 | 11.1 | 61 | 11 |
Despite the lack of elite production in the passing game, Ebron was still the 13th best tight end in the NFL last season according to Pro Football Focus. His overall grade of 75.6 was largely due to his passing grade. He was not very good in the run game grading out at just a 57.3.
Ebron had his fifth-year option picked up by the Lions last year, so if he is traded for he will cost $8.25 million in 2018 and will be a free agent in 2019.
Ebron had his fifth-year, $8.25 million option for 2018 picked up by Lions last spring. Broncos would be in a market for TE like this, minus his drops. #9sports https://t.co/BEveLqWgZE
— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) March 7, 2018
If the Denver Broncos are in the market for a tight end as Mike Klis of 9News suggests, then I wouldn’t want to see anything higher than a mid-late round pick offered. The Broncos have plenty of draft capital, but with Ebron potentially being a free agent after just a year it would be unwise to offer much more than that in a trade.
With the Kirk Cousins question unanswered, I am doubtful the Broncos will pull the trigger on any trades that would chop down their salary cap space by $8.25 million before they have their free agent quarterback questions answered, but this could by something to watch for later in March.