Eric Ebron can’t put up same numbers for Colts

The tight end came over from Detroit to have a Pro Bowl year for the Colts. He can’t possibly put up the same kind of numbers…and that’s okay.

Eric Ebron was a polarizing player when he was first signed. He always had talent oozing out of him, but he was plagued by inconsistency. Drops were a big issue with him while in Detroit. While he did drop a lot of passes last season, his touchdown catches made up for it.

Ebron caught 13 touchdown passes last year. He ended up being Andrew Luck‘s second favorite target behind T.Y. Hilton, and was the best red zone threat the team had. He also had 6 drops, which tied him for the 7th most in the league.

But his Pro Bowl numbers can’t possibly be duplicated this season. The reason for that is that Luck simply has more weapons to throw to. He has Jack Doyle back from injury, Marlon Mack fully healthy, and Parris Campbell brought in from the draft.

With that many weapons, Ebron won’t get as many opportunities to catch the ball. He should still put up good numbers, but it would shock me if he had double-digit touchdown catches again. There simply aren’t enough balls to go around.

Even if he fails to put up numbers like this again, that’s okay. The Colts will probably be better off if they don’t have to try to force it to him all the time, especially in the red zone. Spreading the ball around means the defenses can’t game plan for one specific player.

Ebron still wants to put up even better numbers. That’s great, and a great goal to aspire to. But he doesn’t need to do that anymore.