Rookie Report Card: Blake Bortles and Eric Ebron

Dan Meylor

bortles

I’ve decided to put my own spin on the concept of a rookie report card this year. Going forward, the Rookie Report Card is exactly what it sounds like, a report card.

Not only will I cover my expectations for the player coming into the league and how he’s performed at the NFL level to this point, I’ll actually give him a grade in three categories. Those categories are performance to date, 2014 potential and long term upside. Each week I’ll cover at least two rookies and try to always include the biggest performers from that particular week.

Unfortunately, the biggest performing rookies from week 14 like Andre Williams, Odell Beckham Jr. and Mike Evans have already been covered throughout the season. So the series continues with a closer look at a couple underachieving rookies, Blake Bortles and Eric Ebron.

Blake Bortles, WR JAX
Week 14 Stats: 20/39 passing, 205 yards, one touchdown, one interception
Season Stats: 232/379 passing, 2,466 yards, 10 touchdowns, 16 interceptions

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Those looking for a favorable review of Bortles and his prospects as a top-end NFL quarterback should keep looking. I’m not a big fan and haven’t been since I started watching him a year ago while he was at Central Florida.

As a college prospect, Bortles displayed many of the things draft pundits and dynasty owners like to see when considering a pocket passer. His size (6’5” and 232 pounds), touch, anticipation and ability to throw on the run were eye-popping for the most part and his mobility added something to his game most quarterbacks his size didn’t possess. Even with all of that, Bortles wasn’t all that impressive in my opinion when I watched him play in college.

Although he threw for 3,581 yards and 25 touchdowns while completing nearly 68% of his passes in his final year on campus, Bortles showed some major flaws on film. His release is incredibly slow. Once he finds an open receiver, it takes him far too long to get the ball out of his hand. While that didn’t cause too many problems while playing in the American Athletic Conference against their defensive backs, NFL talent would feast on his incredibly long wind up.

Another weakness Bortles showed while at Central Florida was his inaccuracy under pressure. He only tossed nine interceptions last year and wasn’t under pressure all that much but when he did feel heat, especially in his face, he became incredibly inaccurate – very often missing his target high.

When Jacksonville made him the third overall pick in May, the Jaguars vowed to give Bortles a year to hone his craft as a backup. Although I thought it was a foolish selection to take him that high in the draft, I did think that giving him a season to refine his game was exactly what he needed. The plan to let Bortles learn from the sideline only lasted until week three however due to Chad Henne’s ineffectiveness.

As a rookie, Bortles hasn’t shown any improvement on the things he struggled with while in college. When he was drafted, I thought there was a chance that working with an NFL coaching staff (especially if it was while working as a backup for a year) might improve his terribly slow delivery but that hasn’t been the case and it doesn’t seem to be a focal point of the Jacksonville coaching staff. After watching nearly every one of Bortles throws over the last three weeks, I can say with confidence that his throwing motion is just as long and drawn out as it was when he was in college. He’s also very much struggling with his accuracy when under pressure.

Three weeks ago against the Colts, Bortles had pressure in his face on his first throw of the game, but threw a 10-yard out to the left sideline off his back foot and misfired badly. He threw behind the receiver and was intercepted by Vontae Davis, who nearly returned for a touchdown. Then last week against the Giants he got pressured up the middle and had a wide open Marqise Lee on a post pattern early in the game. Instead of stepping into the throw for a 25-yard gain however, he fired high and the Jags were forced to punt.

This week against the Texans it was more of the same for Bortles. He was incredibly inaccurate down the field and instead of stepping up in the pocket to avoid the rush, fell backwards and threw weakly to underneath receivers. Like most of his game tape so far this year, he looked timid and never really got much behind his throws.

To be fair, Bortles has played behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league as a rookie. He’s been battered and bruised on a weekly basis and recently it’s been reported that he’s playing through injuries to his shoulder and ankle. It also should be mentioned that Bortles has had some shining moments during his rookie season. Most recently, the 30-yard touchdown pass he threw to Lee down the right sideline against the Giants in week 13 to help the Jags come back from 21 points down was perfectly placed and quite impressive. He also had a brilliant 20-yard scramble on the final drive of that game to put the Jags in field goal range for the win.

Overall, my opinion of Bortles hasn’t changed a bit since he entered the league. I still think the accuracy problems he has when under pressure along with his inability to get the ball out of his hands with any urgency will keep him from becoming effective enough to be considered a top-10 quarterback in fantasy. He may develop into a useful starting quarterback for the Jaguars for a handful of seasons, but if he becomes anything more than a QB2 that can be used in a good matchup for dynasty owners, I’d be very surprised.

Rookie Report Card
Player: Blake Bortles
Performance To Date 2014 Potential Long Term Upside
D+ D+ B-

 

Eric Ebron, TE DET
Week 14 Stats: three receptions, 28 yards
Season Stats: 22 receptions, 199 yards, one touchdown

Ebron was the best prospect at his position in the 2014 NFL draft. Coming out of North Carolina, he had a reputation as a strong receiver with all the skills to become the next great pass catching tight end but below average blocker.

Watching Ebron in college, it was easy to see why so many considered him a top-10 prospect. An athletically gifted tight end, he got off the line of scrimmage and into his route quickly whether he was on the line of scrimmage or lined up in the slot. After the release he ran strong routes, putting pressure on the defense by getting on his defender immediately and making crisp breaks to get open.

Once he gained separation for the Tar Heels, Ebron consistently showed excellent ball skills. Attacking the ball when it was in the air, he made leaping catches look easy and constantly made one-handed catches on inaccurate throws. Ebron’s skills after the catch while in college were impressive as well. In short, he’s a bull with the ball in his hands. Far too fast for any linebacker trying to catch him, he’s also too much of a load for any college defensive back to get on the ground.

Although Ebron wasn’t used as a red zone target very often in college (he only caught eight touchdowns in his time at UNC), he entered the league with all the intangibles to develop into a dominant force around the goal line on Sundays.

When Ebron was selected by the Lions with the tenth pick in the draft to play in Detroit’s high octane offense, most dynasty owners were licking their chops at the potential of the 6’4”, 265-pound playmaker. To this point though, it hasn’t materialized.

In his ten games as a pro, Ebron has played less than half of the Lions’ offensive snaps and when he has been on the field, he’s not been a big part of Detroit’s game plan. Targeted 39 times on the year, he’s hauled in just 22 passes for 199 yards and a score and hasn’t had more than four catches or 38 yards receiving in a game.

On Sunday against the Buccaneers, Ebron left his normal impression on the box score. He hauled in three passes for 28 yards and wasn’t on the field enough to make a noticeable impact. Instead, it was Joseph Fauria who was on the field in the red zone. He caught a 10-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

Word out of Detroit says Ebron has missed many chances to move up the depth chart or at least grab more playing time due to his inability to be an effective run blocker. The problem with that is Ebron was never known as a good blocker in college and some thought it would always be a weakness of his, but his pass catching skills would far outweigh his deficiencies in that area. To this point, Detroit’s coaching staff hasn’t been willing to overlook Ebron’s inability to become an adequate blocker and strictly use him in the passing game.

Personally, I feel Ebron should be able to develop into at the very least, an average blocker. He possesses the size and strength and with another off-season working on his technique, should greatly improve his blocking in the run game.

All in all, Ebron should be a full-time player starting in 2015. His skills as a pass catcher are just too great to ignore and what he can add to the Lions’ passing attack will make Detroit absolutely lethal.

Ebron probably won’t contribute to your dynasty team down the stretch so expectations should be very limited for the rest of 2014. But if I could find a fantasy owner that was souring on him and willing to sell, I’d be happy to give him or her the late first round pick they gave up for Ebron a year ago. He’s a breakout candidate in 2015 and will be a top target of mine in trade negotiations after the season.

Rookie Report Card
Player: Eric Ebron
Performance To Date 2014 Potential Long Term Upside
D D+ A

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dan meylor