NFL.com - Chase Goodbread The entire draft class of tight ends is a weak one, according to one NFL personnel executive, and the fool's gold starts at the top with North Carolina's Eric Ebron. The former Tar Heel is widely regarded as the draft's top prospect at the position and has been projected as high as the No. 9 overall pick to theBuffalo Bills, but at least one club will have a strong voice against him when his name comes up. "He's OK. He's completely overrated, and he's a pain in the (butt)," an AFC personnel executive told nj.com. "And don't ask him to block anybody, because he's not going to do it." Now there's someone who wouldn't touch Ebron with a pick anywhere near as high as No. 9. Ebron has also been projectedto the New York Giants at No. 12 by NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah, and No. 17 to the Baltimore Ravens by analyst Charles Davis. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but Ebron didn't even catch the worst of it. Washington's Austin Seferian-Jenkins, potentially a second-round pick, wasn't spared, either. "He's more overrated and a bigger pain in the (butt) than the other guy," he said. "And he blocks like a wide receiver. I don't want any part of him." The same exec went on to devalue the entire class at the position, which includes another potential first-round pick in Texas Tech's Jace Amaro, a second-round projection in Notre Dame's Troy Niklas, and a projected second-day pick in Iowa's C.J. Fiedorowicz. "It's not good at all. I wish it was. But it's not," he added. "It's actually a bad year for tight ends. There's nobody even close to (Tyler) Eifert (drafted No. 21 by Bengals last year). (Eagles2013 second-rounder Zach) Ertz is better than these guys." It can certainly be argued that the tight end class is thin on depth, particularly for clubs in search of an in-line blocker at the position, rather than the slot-type receiving tight end that has taken a commanding presence in more than a few NFL offenses. If Ebron is headed for Bustville, however, it will come as a surprise to the other scouts nj.com spoke with. ---- So, now we have people naming Ebron the next Graham as well as rating him lower than Ertz. Is this guy an idiot or is he on to something? I was/am really high on Eifert more than Ebron so I agree with that one point. I don't think Ebron makes it past the Giants though.
I saw this article as well, looking back we should have drafted Eifert, an excellent 2 way TE. I was a huge fan of Eifert, though he didn't produce due to a stacked team. Ebron certainly has the potential to be a star in this league, but if you don't have the mindset to be great and work on your craft, more than likely you'll bust. I really am on the Lee (WR) bandwagon at this point 100%, you hear nothing negative about his game or attitude (willing to work). That said, I think the Giants take him unless an elite tackle prospect falls.
The NFL group think is notoriously wrong year after year when it comes to draft prospects, so sometimes it's worth it to listen to the guy that is going against convention.
I haven't heard a ton but I think people are getting a little excited about Ebron just because of his measurables. Either way, when I have heard him talk he doesn't really sound like an Idzik guy. Confidence is important, but he has sounded a little overconfident to me. Labeling him the next Graham is totally outrageous to me, but whatever.
You'd really rather have Eifert than Milliner or Richardson? I think after year 2 it will become even more clear they are both much better than Eifert.
Yes, I would take Eifert over Millner. Obviously not Richardson. Eifert is an excellent pass-catcher and blocker.
It's an opinion so it's fine that we disagree, I think that another year or two will show what Milliner will be in the NFL for us, and I think he will be amazing. We will see though, I don't big knocks against Eifert I just think Milliner is going to be pretty special.
Millner is a Jet, so I hope he becomes a great player. His ability to play man to man is still in question.
His ability isn't in question really, he had some great man-to-man games against good NFL receivers late in the year. Whether he will consistently be confident and dominant is the real question.
His ability to play man to man is still very much in question at the next level. It wasn't until the Jets decided to play more zone that Millner showed up on the field and made plays. When we played strictly man defense, Millner struggled.
I liked him a lot early for our 1st rounder but I don't feel he's quite worth that anymore. If he somehow fell to us in the second I'd take him without a doubt in my mind.
of course this unnamed executive may be publicly blasting the TE market because they're at the bottom of the draft and hoping to create a smokescreen, because we all know that NFL exec's are always so forthright with who they are high on and who they aren't.
Executives/scouts purposely blast classes or players anonymously to try and scare off rival/other teams from taking their guys. Nothing really new. Its all apart of the draft game. Smokescreens run high this time of the year. I really doubt Ebron or ASJ would not be up for blocking. They'll do whatever the heck they can to get taken as high as possible and to cash in down the road.
