When the Detroit Lions released Eric Ebron last off-season, I doubt they expected to see him immediately flourish with the Indianapolis Colts. The No. 10 overall pick struggled during his time as the Lions' tight end. His route-running, athleticism, and speed transferred from North Carolina to the NFL, but his drop issues and inconsistencies became magnified.

In Detroit, he didn't look the part of a top-ten pick, but the same can't be said for his first season in Indy. In 16 games (eight starts), he became Andrew Luck's go-to red-zone option as he tallied a league-high for tight ends 13 touchdowns on the year. He helped move the chains too; racking up 66 receptions for 750 touchdowns. All three numbers are career highs.

Heading into the 2019 season, most look at Ebron as a completely different player than before 2018. Rather than being classified as a borderline top-20 tight end, most consider him to be in the top-five, or near it. He's one of the best receiving tight ends in the league, and maybe the best red zone option at the position. But, is he capable of being the NFL's top tight end by the end of 2019?

Ebron had a good season in 2018, but most wouldn't take that over Travis Kelce, Zach Ertz, or George Kittle's. Why is that? Despite Ebron's proficiency as a receiver, he's in no means a complete tight end. Though Ebron carried a high passer rating of 110.0 when targeted in 2018, Pro Football Focus gave him an average 66.8 grade — good for 27th in the league amongst tight ends. It's not too hard to see why.

Before entering the league, many viewed Ebron as a half-done tight end due to his blocking woes. In the five years since being drafted, that's shown. He's fully capable of doing so. Standing at 6-foot-4 and 250-pounds, he's a big-bodied tight end with athleticism to boot. But far too often, his subpar blocking has been due to a flat-out lack of effort.

Luckily, for the Colts, Jack Doyle is on-board to be their primary blocking tight end. Unluckily for Ebron, Doyle's proficiency as a blocker means that he won't the Colts won't play him on a snap-to-snap basis. Even when he was scoring touchdowns at a 12% rate, per PFF, the Colts had to pull him out far too often in 2018. According to PFF, in 2018, Doyle saw 45.7 snaps per game, while Ebron saw just 27.3.

In 2019, Ebron will have to battle Doyle for consistent snaps — if he improves his blocking, he can win them. But, he'll also have to compete with a new-look offense for targets. A large part of Ebron's success in 2018 was because outside of T.Y. Hilton, Luck didn't have many go-to options. But with Devin Funchess and Parris Campbell on board, that will change.

Despite the Colts' additions, Ebron should be viewed as Luck's second option and go-to red-zone option. He's just too good of a receiver not to use. Expect to see another big fantasy football season for him. Going into a contract year, he needs that to happen. He even told reporters in early May that he's going for Gronkowski's touchdown record of 17;

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Colts' Jim Irsay next to the thumbs-down meme guy

Benedetto Vitale ·

GM Chris Ballard in the middle, Brock Bowers, TJ Tampa, Jermaine Burton around him, and Indianapolis Colts in the background.

Enzo Flojo ·

I believe Gronk still holds the record for most touchdowns, which is 17. So, if I want to do anything that is gonna be real spectacular or really good, I gotta go get 17

He's certainly capable of breaking that record, and he has the quarterback that will take advantage of his skills. But, even if he has another fantastic season as a receiver, he won't be considered as the league's best until he can block well consistently. After all, receiving is half of the position, while blocking is the other half. No matter how good Ebron is a receiver, he can't be classified even in the top three (for now) until he gets better as a blocker.

Zach Ertz was in this same situation years ago — he was a fantastic receiving tight end, but his poor blocking took him off the field. Once he got that blocking up to par (in the past couple of seasons), he joined the NFL's elite at the position. If Ebron does the same, there is no reason why he wouldn't be there either.