Eric Ebron signed with the Steelers yesterday, and that's an intriguing landing spot. The days of Heath Miller aren't too far in the rearview mirror, and even Vance McDonald and Jesse James combined for over 1,000 yards in 2018. The potential for strong numbers is there.
With Ebron, the athletic ability has always been there. He was a top-10 draft pick, and has 700-yard receiving seasons with two different teams.
But he's now with his third team since 2017, wearing out his welcome in both Detroit and Indianapolis. One factor -- maybe the key factor -- is that drops have long been an issue for him.
Over the last three seasons, there have been 63 players with at least 150 catchable balls. Ebron has seen 167 of them, and dropped 17. That's more than 10 percent -- one of the two worst rates in the league. (No. 1 will probably surprise you.)
| DROP PERCENTAGE, 2017-2019 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Rec | Drop | Tot | Pct |
| Julian Edelman, N.E. | 174 | 21 | 195 | 10.8% |
| Eric Ebron, Det-Ind | 150 | 17 | 167 | 10.2% |
| Jared Cook, Oak.-N.O. | 165 | 18 | 183 | 9.8% |
| Demaryius Thomas, 3 tms | 178 | 18 | 196 | 9.2% |
| Melvin Gordon, LAC | 150 | 15 | 165 | 9.1% |
| Todd Gurley, LAR | 154 | 15 | 169 | 8.9% |
| Jamison Crowder, Was.-NYJ | 173 | 16 | 189 | 8.5% |
| Randall Cobb, G.B.-Dall. | 159 | 14 | 173 | 8.1% |
| Odell Beckham, NYG-Cle | 176 | 15 | 191 | 7.9% |
| Jimmy Graham, Sea-GB | 150 | 12 | 162 | 7.4% |
| Amari Cooper, Oak-Dal | 202 | 16 | 218 | 7.3% |
| Mohamed Sanu, Atl-NE | 192 | 15 | 207 | 7.2% |
| Corey Davis, Ten. | 142 | 11 | 153 | 7.2% |
| Dede Westbrook, Jac. | 159 | 12 | 171 | 7.0% |
| Evan Engram, NYG | 153 | 11 | 164 | 6.7% |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 224 | 16 | 240 | 6.7% |
| Travis Kelce, K.C. | 283 | 20 | 303 | 6.6% |
| Jarvis Landry, Mia-Cle | 276 | 19 | 295 | 6.4% |
| Julio Jones, Atl. | 300 | 20 | 320 | 6.3% |
| DeVante Parker, Mia. | 153 | 10 | 163 | 6.1% |
| Allen Robinson, Jac-Chi | 154 | 10 | 164 | 6.1% |
| Tyler Boyd, Cin. | 188 | 12 | 200 | 6.0% |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 268 | 17 | 285 | 6.0% |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 211 | 13 | 224 | 5.8% |
| Kenny Golladay, Det. | 163 | 10 | 173 | 5.8% |
| Nelson Agholor, Phil. | 165 | 10 | 175 | 5.7% |
| Saquon Barkley, NYG | 143 | 8 | 151 | 5.3% |
| Golden Tate, 3 tms | 215 | 12 | 227 | 5.3% |
| George Kittle, S.F. | 216 | 12 | 228 | 5.3% |
| Sterling Shepard, NYG | 182 | 10 | 192 | 5.2% |
| Tarik Cohen, Chi. | 203 | 11 | 214 | 5.1% |
| Adam Humphries, T.B.-Ten. | 174 | 9 | 183 | 4.9% |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 178 | 9 | 187 | 4.8% |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 220 | 11 | 231 | 4.8% |
| Alshon Jeffery, Phil. | 165 | 8 | 173 | 4.6% |
| Robby Anderson, NYJ | 165 | 8 | 173 | 4.6% |
| Stefon Diggs, Min. | 229 | 11 | 240 | 4.6% |
| Cole Beasley, Dall.-Buff. | 168 | 8 | 176 | 4.5% |
| Jack Doyle, Ind. | 149 | 7 | 156 | 4.5% |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 303 | 14 | 317 | 4.4% |
| Cooper Kupp, LAR | 196 | 9 | 205 | 4.4% |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 243 | 11 | 254 | 4.3% |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 157 | 7 | 164 | 4.3% |
| Marvin Jones, Det. | 158 | 7 | 165 | 4.2% |
| Danny Amendola, 3 tms | 182 | 8 | 190 | 4.2% |
| Emmanuel Sanders, Den-SF | 184 | 8 | 192 | 4.2% |
| Brandin Cooks, NE-LAR | 187 | 8 | 195 | 4.1% |
| Austin Hooper, Atl. | 195 | 8 | 203 | 3.9% |
| LeVeon Bell, Pit-NYJ | 151 | 6 | 157 | 3.8% |
| Zach Ertz, Phil. | 278 | 11 | 289 | 3.8% |
| Adam Thielen, Min. | 234 | 9 | 243 | 3.7% |
| James White, N.E. | 215 | 8 | 223 | 3.6% |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 315 | 10 | 325 | 3.1% |
| Duke Johnson, Cle.-Hou. | 165 | 5 | 170 | 2.9% |
| Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 303 | 9 | 312 | 2.9% |
| Michael Thomas, N.O. | 378 | 11 | 389 | 2.8% |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt.-N.E. | 209 | 6 | 215 | 2.8% |
| Robert Woods, LAR | 232 | 6 | 238 | 2.5% |
| Austin Ekeler, LAC | 158 | 4 | 162 | 2.5% |
| Chris Godwin, T.B. | 179 | 4 | 183 | 2.2% |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 184 | 3 | 187 | 1.6% |
| Kyle Rudolph, Min. | 160 | 2 | 162 | 1.2% |
| Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 253 | 3 | 256 | 1.2% |
A whole lot of big names show up poorly in this list. Edelman, Crowder, Beckham -- those guys aren't being kicked to the curb anytime soon. Ebron might (probably will) be a viable option in Pittsburgh's offense. (Helped also by a report last week that Ben Roethlisberger is throwing without pain as he works his way back from an elbow injury.)
But if he wears out his welcome quickly in Pittsburgh, drops will probably be the reason why.
--Andy Richardson