2015 Detroit Lions: A Slappy’s Guide

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Eric Ebron‘s Progression isn’t Assumed, It’s Simply Probable

We always want to think that our players will naturally progress from one season to the next.  Bad players will fix all of their issues, good players will become great, while players on the cusp will take that next step.  It doesn’t always work out that way, but the Detroit Lions are in an interesting position with their 2014 first round pick, Eric Ebron.

There’s a statistically relevant progression for tight ends entering year two, one that we’ve even seen covered on SideLionReport.com.  Likewise, rookie tight ends almost never produce while they almost universally take huge strides in year two.  With a renewed focus on spreading the ball around, the Detroit Lions are likely to feature Eric Ebron more often than they had even hinted at in 2014, and just by pure volume we should expect production.

Laken Tomlinson didn’t win the LG spot outright from Manny Ramirez, but like Larry Warford he wasn’t really expected to right away.  With Warford dealing with injuries of his own, it’s possible we still end up seeing Tomlinson starting sooner than later, but even if it doesn’t happen on that side it is only a matter of time.  Manny Ramirez is an excellent swing interior OL, but a starter he is not. Tomlinson was considered the top true guard by nearly everyone and I’d expect to see plenty of that this season.

Next: Beefing the Run Game