Ex-Steelers TE Eric Ebron gets real about death of former teammate DJ Hayden

Ex-Steelers TE Eric Ebron shared a moving post on X after hearing that his close friend, D.J. Hayden, died in an auto accident.

On Saturday, the sports world was rocked by the news of a horrific auto accident in Houston, TX, that killed six people, including former NFL cornerback D.J. Hayden.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Eric Ebron, who was once a teammate of Hayden in Detroit, used X as an outlet for self-expression.

Ebron wrote on X shortly after the news was reported on Nov. 11, “My heart is broken. My Mental aint right. my brother from another mother. I hate people that drink and drive. I hate people with no common sense. I lost my bestie, my brother, my teammate. smfh”

According to ABC 13 Houston, a driver in an SUV sped through a red light, colliding with a Chrysler 300, in the early morning of Nov. 11. Investigators said both drivers lost control, the SUV flipped, and four people were killed on the scene. Four others were hospitalized, where two more people died. Five men and one woman, including the driver at fault, were killed, per Houston authorities.

Hayden, the Raiders 12th-overall pick of the 2013 NFL draft, survived a life-threatening heart injury during University of Houston football practice in 2012. He survived and went on to play for Oakland, Detroit, Jacksonville and Washington from 2013-2021.

Ebron and Hayden were teammates in Ebron’s last season with the Lions.

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NFL draft history: Every player selected with the 10th overall pick since 2000

We’re looking at every No. 10 overall pick selected since the 2000 NFL Draft and the Philadelphia Eagles’ chances of landing an impact player

The Eagles need impact players on both sides of the ball, and with two first-round picks in this month’s draft, Howie Roseman will have another opportunity to add depth to a Super Bowl-caliber roster.

Top ten picks are expected to be dynamic players, and the list of No. 10 overall selections has a handful of misses, along with several hits and a few Hall of Fame-worthy performers.

With the NFL draft fast approaching, we’re looking at every player selected with the tenth pick since 2000.

Free agent TE Eric Ebron still hopes to join Panthers

Free agent TE Eric Ebron, who has connections to Frank Reich and Jim Caldwell, still hopes the Panthers look his way for the 2023 season.

Some things haven’t changed since Eric Ebron tweeted this back on Aug. 17, 2022 . . .

Six months later, the Carolina Panthers still need help at the tight end position and this Greensboro, N.C. boy still wants to come home. But what has changed is who’s running the show in Charlotte, and that could bode rather well for Ebron’s chances.

On Friday night, the eight-year veteran made his hopes clear once again. With the hiring of John Lilly as the Panthers’ tight end coach, Ebron—also a former University of North Carolina Tar Heel—hit Twitter with another hint.

He’d then, on Saturday morning, be asked about his thoughts on the rest of the staff head coach Frank Reich has built. Here was his reply:

Well, Ebron has played for Frank. In fact, he was actually one of the first additions the Indianapolis Colts made after bringing Reich onboard as their head coach in 2018.

Ebron signed on in Indy to the tune of a two-year, $13 million pact. After starting that first 2018 campaign as the backup to Jack Doyle, he stepped up to have his best year as a pro—recording career-highs in receptions (66), receiving yards (750) and touchdowns (13).

Oh, and Ebron also played for Panthers senior assistant Jim Caldwell. In fact, he was the very first draft pick the Detroit Lions made after hiring Caldwell as head coach.

Caldwell and the Lions scooped Ebron up with the 10th overall selection of the 2014 draft. And just like Caldwell, he’d go on to spend four seasons in Detroit.

As for what Ebron has been up to lately, the soon-to-be 30-year-old spent 2022 nursing his knee injury. But now, he said he’s all healed up and ready to battle—perhaps on the home front.

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7 tight ends Vikings could target with Irv Smith Jr. injured

The news regarding Irv Smith Jr. isn’t great, but there are options out there at tight end for the Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings got dealt a rough blow at the end of the win over the Arizona Cardinals 34-26 on Sunday when Irv Smith Jr. injured his ankle on the final offensive possession of the game.

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With word that he likely has a high ankle sprain, that means he could be out for upwards of six weeks.

With that in mind, the Vikings will need to look outside the organization for depth at tight end because Ben Ellefson is on injured reserve. Here are seven tight ends the Vikings could target at the trade deadline and in free agency.

Free agent TE Eric Ebron to Panthers: ‘Bring me home’

With the Panthers growing even thinner at TE, Eric Ebron wants his hometown team to come and get him.

The Carolina Panthers have grown frighteningly thin at an already frighteningly thin position. But maybe a hometown kid can help.

On Wednesday, tight end Tommy Tremble was absent from the team’s second joint practice with the New England Patriots. The second-year pass catcher is now the latest question mark at the spot—with Ian Thomas, Colin Thompson and Josh Babicz all having missed time recently.

Well, free agent Eric Ebron caught wind of the Panthers’ troubles on Twitter and responded to the distress signal.

Ebron, a Newark, N.J. native, wasn’t North Carolina born and bred. He would, though, call the state his home midway through his high school days—moving from North Providence High School in Providence, R.I. to Ben L. Smith High School in Greensboro.

That gave way to his commitment to the University of North Carolina, where he became a standout weapon for the Tar Heels between from 2011 to 2013. Ebron was then selected with the 10th overall pick of the 2014 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions.

The 6-foot-4, 250-pounder has gone on to amass 3,837 yards and 33 touchdowns over 351 receptions in his eight-year pro career.

And although it seems unlikely that the Panthers would add Ebron, at least at this point, the offer (from Ebron, that is) is seemingly out there.

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3 tight ends Vikings could sign after Irv Smith Jr. injury

There are still veteran tight end options out there for the Vikings.

The one thing the Minnesota Vikings hoped wouldn’t happen happened with tight end Irv Smith Jr. going down with an injury before the season started, again.

Unless the team plans on rolling Johnny Mundt and Zach Davidson out there as their primary tight ends, it would make sense for them to start thumbing through the free agent pages in search of a veteran playmaker to come in and contribute.

Smith is hopeful to return by the start of the season, but there are no guarantees at this point.

It would have been nice to see the team pull the trigger on that Kyle Rudolph reunion while it was still a thing. Now, the former longtime Vikings tight end is catching passes from Tom Brady with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But we’re not here to cry over spilled milk. It isn’t like general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah had a crystal ball with the future in it sitting on his desk. Things happen and the team is now in a position where they need to make the best of their situation.

Here are three tight ends the Vikings should consider calling up right now.

Giants signing Andrew Adams, work out Eric Ebron and others

The New York Giants are expected to sign safety Andrew Adams after Monday workouts that also included TE Eric Ebron.

The New York Giants held a series of workouts in East Rutherford on Monday and will come away from that with at least one new addition.

ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reports that the Giants are expected to sign veteran safety Andrew Adams.

Adams entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of UConn, signing with the Giants following the 2016 NFL draft. He spent the first two seasons of his career with Big Blue before stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2018, 2019-2020, 2021), Detroit Lions (2019) and Philadelphia Eagles (2021).

In 87 career games (35 starts), Adams has recorded 190 tackles, four QB hits, two forced fumbles, 23 passes defensed and seven interceptions.

In addition to Adams, the Giants also worked out tight ends Eric Ebron and Kahale Warring, offensive tackles Kendall Lamm, Caleb Benenoch and Kamaal Seymour, defensive tackle Darrion Daniels, wide receiver Marcus Kemp, defensive back Jack Koerner and defensive end Nicholas Williams.

It’s unclear if any of the other workout players were offered a contract.

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9 players Saints should target before NFL trade deadline

The Saints should swing for the fences in pursuing playmakers like TE Evan Engram and WR Brandon Aiyuk at the NFL trade deadline. 9 trade candidates:

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How active will the New Orleans Saints be at this year’s NFL trade deadline? Recent history suggests they’ll be right in the thick of things. They acquired linebacker Kwon Alexander at the 2020 deadline and came close to trading for wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders in 2019; cornerback Eli Apple arrived in a 2018 trade. And, oh yeah, they just brought Mark Ingram back after his three-year exodus with the Ravens and Texans. Expect them to continue to work the phones in search of upgrades.

And there isn’t a more obvious upgrade than the group of pass-catchers surrounding Jameis Winston. Well, pass-catchers in name only — 16 targets went to wide receivers during Monday night’s close win over the Seattle Seahawks, but only four of them were caught. With Michael Thomas still on the PUP list, Deonte Harris injured, and Tre’Quan Smith looking rusty-at-best, the Saints are quite literally beggars now, with their only real hope of improving Winston’s supporting cast being another team’s cast-offs.

They may be unwilling to throw too many resources at the problem after putting two draft picks on the table for Bradley Roby, but it’s worth noting that New Orleans still has a number of picks to work with in 2022 and 2023, with several compensatory picks expected to convey. But here are nine names they should call about:

Steelers’ Eric Ebron finding it hard to stay quiet about lack of targets

Everyone in Pittsburgh hopes Eric Ebron can prove himself to be worthy of seeing the ball more.

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Eric Ebron addressed his number of targets  — or, more appropriately, the lack of targets — during a meeting with the media after practice.

“My reputation is, I’ve always said something,” Ebron said, via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “So for me, this time, I’m not going to say anything and I’m going to let my tape and my coaches work for me.”

Ebron, who is certainly known for speaking his mind, didn’t stop there. He was asked whether it was hard to stay mum.

“It’s hard as [expletive],” he said.

It should come as no surprise that a player who is as outspoken as Ebron wouldn’t necessarily be thrilled with how little he’s seeing the ball. He loves the game and genuinely wants to help his team by making an impact on the field. Given how he performed throughout last season, though, it’s probably equally clear to even the most casual of observers why he isn’t one of Ben’s go-to guys.

Warning: There’s explicit language in this video.

Through six games, Ebron has tallied only seven receptions for 47 total yards. He did find his way across the goal line on his lone rushing play in the red zone against the Seattle Seahawks. When on his game, he has been a dependable weapon for the offense in critical moments. And everyone in Pittsburgh, including Ebron himself, hopes he can prove himself to be worthy of seeing the ball more.

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Better than average: Tight Ends

How did the TEs fare against the same defenses?

The best measurement of a tight end  is how they fared against a defense relative to all others that also faced that defense. That removes the element of schedule strength because the best game that the 49ers allowed may only be an average one from a lesser defense.

The Top-8 fantasy performances against each defense were arrayed and each  tight end was recorded for how often they were in the Top-8, the Top-4 and Top-1 versus a defense last season.

Adding up those numbers yields a BTA score since they are better than the average tight end that faced a defense. It also weighs the performances since a Top-1 also counts as a Top-4 and a Top-8.

Bottom line – this is about how well a player did against a defense relative to all the others in his position did when they faced them. The reality is that there are few difference-making tight ends but this measurement shows how well a tight end really performed against his schedule and not just compared to all other tight ends.

With so few players of any consequence, there are no big surprises here. Travis Kelce and Darren Waller naturally take the top spots and George Kittle struggled with injuries in 2020. Logan Thomas, Robert Tonyan, T.J. Hockenson, and Eric Ebron all improved last year. Each turned in at a Top-8 performance in over half of their games and all but Ebron return to the same team with a chance to further their impact to the offense.

Mark Andrews fell in the metric thanks to the decline in touchdown passes from Lamar Jackson. This remains a fantasy position with only a handful of notable players, but Thomas, Tonyan, and Hockenson are expected to only get better. Rob Gronkowski placed well in the metric though would pinball between big games and nearly nothing from week to week. The return to health of O.J. Howard could keep Gronkowski just as inconsistent again this year.

Here are just the No. 1 performances allowed by a defense (a total of 32). The difference between Kelce and all others is profound.