Fantasy Upside
Eric Ebron saw the eighth-most targets among tight ends in 2020. Even with all the outside weapons, Pittsburgh still found plenty of ways to involve Ebron in the offense, particularly in the red zone. He finished 15th in fantasy scoring among tight ends. He had six games with at least five catches. He won’t be a consistent TE1, but with the right matchup, can be a weekly play and dependable TE2.
Fantasy Downside
Ebron’s main competition at tight end in 2020 was Vance McDonald, who wasn’t much of a competition at all. But in 2021, the Steelers spent a second-round pick on Penn State TE Pat Freiermuth. They’ll find ways to involve the player once considered “Baby Gronk”. Ebron won’t totally lose his TE1 status in Pittsburgh so soon, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Freiermuth eat into Ebron’s workload as the season progresses.
2021 Bottom Line
Ebron is still a solid TE2 for 2021 and should still be a factor when the Steelers reach the red zone. His 91 targets in 2020 were fourth on the team and 35 more than the fifth-highest total from James Washington. Freiermuth will eat into some of those targets, but we know the history of rookie tight ends. Ebron still will be a dependable weekly matchup option as a TE2 and can be had very cheap in drafts.
