TarHeels ~ 6040/245
Those who are True Hybrid Threats are among the deadliest Players in the Game.
The "Tight Ends" who spend far more of their time running Routes from all over the Formation, and who aren't especially renowned for their Blocking ~ though many of them are adept Chippers ~ I refer to as Flex Ends.
Those who are True Hybrid Threats are among the deadliest Players in the Game.
Finally, those Hybrid Players who are so ridiculously Hybridized that they literally roam back and forth over the constantly fluctuating line between "LineMan" and "Back" ~ and who a confused FootBall World has clumsily designated, at times, as either "Tight End", "H-Back", or "FullBack", I refer to as WingBacks.
WingBack is a Position that by its very nature rests upon the Ethereal Edge between "LineMan" and "Back".
As such, I believe that the Term exquisitely captures the Essence of these particular Hybrids.
They're terms ~ WingBack and Flex End ~ that I find 1000 times cooler than "H-Back" or "Move" Tight End.
But that's me!!
The most compelling Attributes of a Flex End, in the 21st Century, are, in my view, and in no particular order:
Separation. Getting Open. This encompasses their ability to beat Press, their Acceleration out'f the Blocks, their Routing Precision, their Agility, their Ricochet, their capacity to outsmart Defenders, and their Instincts.
Catching. This encompasses Hands, Catch Radius, Vertical Agility, and Timing.
Navigation. How well he Navigates the Field in Pursuit of Yards After Catch: Power, Agility, and Field Vision.
Blocking. Having a Flex End who doesn't Block effectively is like having 10 Men on the Field of Battle.
Catching ~ Adept. Enormously improved, this Year.
Navigation ~ Exceptional. Sufficient Fluidity, a real Grizzly to bring down, and excellent BreakAway Speed.
Blocking ~ Outstanding. Excellent Core Power, sufficient Fluidity, an absolutely relentless Motor, and tremendous Spatial Diagnostics: Ebron consistently displays an advanced understanding ~ nay, a Command ~ of Angles, Speed, and a Dynamically evolving Tactical LandScape. He'd be fine In Line, but is extraordinary in Space.
He's just about the most athletically gifted Player I've ever seen who brings so much Passion & Intensity to Blocking.
Better yet: He knows what he's doing.
His Command of Speed & Spatial Diagnostics is extraordinary, and the ferocious yet disciplined approach he takes towards Blocking is a joy to behold. The extraordinarily insightful Matt Waldman broke down Ebron's Blocking and the rest of'is Game recently, an Article of extraordinary Craftsmanship, as is standard for Waldman.
And as a Receiver, Ebron is a dangerous Weapon, indeed. I don't see'm slithering and snaking'is way around a Sea of Defenders, before and after the Catch ~ his Fluidity & Ricochet are unremarkable ~ but his combination of Acceleration off the Line, his Spatial Diagnostics & Instincts in getting Open, and, above all, his deadly combination of Core Power, Tenacity, and BreakAway Speed after the Catch render'm capable of wreaking Havoc.
We are indeed in an Era where the Flex End is emerging as an increasingly prominent Player, as I and others have been hypothesizing for several Years. Ebron's ability to fly by MidFielders and Flank Defenders and then blast through Safeties and CornerBacks will make him a Terror for Years to come, I believe.
And putting that together with his Passion and Skill as a Blocker, I believe that Ebron will prove to be a truly formidable Adversary: a genuine Hybrid Double Threat, menacing both as a Blocker and as a Receiver.
Thanks, as always, to the extraordinary Work by the men of Draft BreakDown!!
Consensus Market Value 1st Round | Yankee Grade 1st Round |