Gresham has been OK, he had a few small injuries but I believe he made the pro-bowl twice. The player Gresham was in College is cloer to Ebron, Gresham F-uped his knee his last year. I believe he's a top 5 top TE in the league. I think Gresham had a year of at least 750 yards, that's darn good for a TE. Ebron is a better blocker than Gresham. Gronk isn't even in the top 5 any longer. If we can get a player like Todd Heap, Heath Miller or Jermaine Gresham I will be very happy. I just don't expect Ebron to be a Vernon Davis type player, he's a rare physical speciman.
Graham Gronk Cameron(CLE) Gonzalez(ATL) Vernon Davis(SF) Probably top 5 TEs in the NFL right now. Witten, Gates, Daniel Thomas, Owen Daniels, and maybe Gresham would rank out for top ten IMO though I like Jordan Reed's upside, just need to see more of him like we've seen out of Thomas year 1. I'd take a Jordan Cameron type of baller out of Ebron.
Daniel Thomas has Peyton Manning to work with so that's why I kept him off the fab five but he's really tearing it up in his rookie year. Someone to watch out for once Gonzalez retires. Only thing that stops Gronk is injuries....besides that, he's right there with Graham as far as a receiving TE goes. Needs to work on the blocking game and may never figure that out though. I'd take Greg Olson out of Ebron. Olson has put together a nice career post-Bears where he gets utilized properly now in Carolina.
I just cant get around to Ebron in round 1. Its where he will go and at a position we need, but I just dont love it. His hands are too inconsistent for me, thats my main problem with him. Granted, Ive only seen about 6 games of his, but he seems to drop a good deal of passes, and has a hard time hanging onto passes in traffic. IMO, thats one of the biggest traits a TE must have. He'll probably draw a good deal of comparisons to Vernon Davis, which makes sense. They both can have inconsistent hands, are solid blockers, and are athletic TE's (although Ebron is not as explosive). I do like the positions addressed though. WR must be addressed in the first 2 rounds this year.
Gronk may not be this year, but athletically and based on talent, he is without a doubt the #2 TE in football. Last week he looked great, possibly more fluid than he's been in years. I expect him to be the #1 TE after NE's bye. And to the point on Gresham, he's certainly been a solid TE, but I think what Baker is getting at is that he isnt truly a difference maker at the position. Honestly, I think Cumberland is as gifted as gresham, so if we are drafting gresham 2.0 in the 1st round, I personally think that pick could be much better used elsewhere. Gresham probably wont even be Cinci's #1 TE going forward because he isnt the difference maker Cinci hoped he would be when they draft him.
I dont know enough about Ebron, but if what ur saying is correct, man idk, we need natural pass catchers who pluck the ball out of the air. We need guys who make the wow catches, watching the bengals game, it was ridiculous how many amazing catches the bengals playmakers made. Dalton made good throws but all he had to do was throw it in their vicinity and they made the play. That would be nice to get guys to help out Geno while hes going through his growing pains
While Ebron has had a few drops, he entire body of work is very impressive. I've seen Ebron make many very difficult catches. Ebron is athletic and a very physical TE that can separate from linebackers. Some have compared Ebron to Jermichael Finley. I drafted Ebron mid/late Rd 1 in my mock and he's the best offensive player available....and it's not close.
Gronk is most definitely a top 5 TE. He's #2 in my book behind Graham. Only thing that can stop Gronk are the injuries he seems to suffer.
Just wondering WW, do you have Ebron rated higher than Lee overall? Im sure many have soured on him since the start of the season but he is still a very good talent. I can see them going around the same time in the draft. Also on a side note, it sucks Jace Amaro isnt declaring. He has some Jimmy Graham to him and could have been a 1st round pick. Just thinking about this, man do I wish we made a run at Martellus Bennett in FA last offseason. Reasonably cheap, still young, and certainly good enough at the position. There's not many Graham's and Gronk's out there
As I've stated on here before, I'm a Carolina fan, and season ticket holder. Ebron is a freak athlete at the tight end position. He's fast, can separate, and is amazing in open field. Not to mention being 64-6'5, 245lbs. He has dropped some balls in traffic. But a lot of those were thrown into double and triple coverage. If the Jets were able to get E in the draft, I'd be ecstatic. He's an electric play maker. With all due respect WW85, Tre "Smoke" Boston, is someone I would NOT want with the Jets. He's awful in coverage and not a great, fundamental tackler.
I'd probably switch round 1 and 3 (in terms of position, not players). Obviously, it depends who is left on the board and how things fall, but I think I'd rather Van Noy over someone like Ebron. I probably take a guard (maybe Yankey from Stanford) in the third instead of a TE. Admittedly, I don't know much about Jaelen, but I really want a WR in round 2, so I'll take your word on Jaelen (don't watch much Pac-12 ball). Dennard I really like. I'm a student at Michigan, so I see a ton of MSU ball (and B1G as a whole). He'll be a baller at the next level. Really enjoy your opinions as always.
Ebron is almost a 1/2 round higher in my rankings. Too many Jet fans on this site are overrating Lee, he's not a Mid 1st Rd talent, at least not this year. If he was in 2013' draft he could have been a top 10 pick. BTW, I'm a huge Lee fan, just realistic about ranking players and their value. Amaro said on twitter he isn't declaring......so I just took his word for it.
Strong is indeed a BEAST, this is his first year at Arizona State as a JUCO transfer but he might be declaring by the time its all done with. Somewhat like Cordarelle Patterson of last year with only one year of production he might sneak into the first round but draft time. I like Ebron a lot but if he ends up like Gresham or even Finley i don't want him. He's similar to them in athletic ability and size, but neither have been consistent enough, especially Gresham to merit his high draft position. Another good draft though, I'm going to look up the backer from Kentucky Zadarius and him look like some solid prospects.
Lee might fall to the 2nd, especially with Strong rising… at that point he'd be the steal of the draft because he is still the most polished receiver in the whole draft. I see Chad Johnson/Reggie Wayne in him.
Yeah, I saw the note he wrote to his teammate on twitter too. Idk, maybe Im just not as high on Ebron as you and others are. I just feel like a TE has to be a gamechanger and a huge mismatch in order to be a 1st round pick. I thought that Eifert fit into that mold and I absolutely loved his ball skills. Im not sure I feel that way about Ebron, at least yet that is. Just with this WR group I cant bear to watch another pass-catcher with questionable hands. But I could be completely wrong about Ebron being that I havent seen him a ton. More so speaking in general.
I agree last year Lee would have been a lock in the top 10, maybe the Top 5 last April. Unfortunately, circumstances we have all mentioned have effected Lee's draft stock in 2013. Is some team going to draft Lee on his previous year's performance??? Maybe, it only takes one team to fall in love with a player. I look at evaluating players at the whole body of their work, but put a stronger emphasis on recent play. IMO, Lee's production this year doesn't even warrant him a 3rd Rd pick, but his physical ability and last year's great season with Barkley make him a late 1st rd pick or early 2nd. I'm a huge Lee fan, but have to temper my enthusiasm this year, he's still should be a solid NFL player.
