Week 10 vs Bengals
Two straight games with a touchdown and the Bengals have been quite friendly to opposing tight ends this season. Ebron finds himself as a top-ten option at the TE position this week.
Week 9 vs Cowboys
Ebron has been seeing more work again in recent weeks, playing at least 80% of snaps in the last two weeks. He's averaging five catches for 49 yards and caught a touchdown pass during that two-game stretch and now he faces a poor Dallas defense. It should be interesting to see how Pittsburgh continues to work Ebron in and if they keep increasing his workload and his target share. He's a borderline TE1 this week, but it is a favorable matchup thanks to the high number of touchdowns allowed in the air by Dallas through eight weeks.
Week 8 vs Ravens
Ebron had his highest totals in targets and catches last week against the Titans and nearly had his highest yard total as well. But with pretty much the entire stable back on offense, Ebron slips down the pecking order, putting him in TE2 lineup territory.
Week 7 vs Titans
Ebron was extremely quiet in Week 6 with only two catches for nine yards. You have to wonder if his target share will stay low with the Steelers having all their receivers again, with JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson back at full practice and James Washington floating around as well, not to mention the quick growth of Chase Claypool, who is almost like a tight end himself. He comes in at No. 17 this week for us among TEs.
Week 6 vs Browns
Pittsburgh has gotten Ebron more involved in the offense as the weeks go by. In terms of skill players, Ebron has played the third-most snaps for the Steelers, behind only Ben Roethlisberger and JuJu Smith-Schuster. He's also tied for third on the team in targets (20). And Cleveland is a pretty good matchup right now for an opposing tight end. We have Ebron as our No. 7 TE for the week. He could be due for a score.
Week 5 vs Eagles
If Week 3 is any indication, the Steelers are finally getting Eric Ebron involved in the offense. Ebron saw seven targets against the Texans, caught five of them for 52 yards and hauled in a touchdown. Ebron had been seen as almost the third wide receiver in Pittsburgh and we're now starting to see that in action, even with Chase Claypool flashing. Ebron is our No. 13 TE for this week. Philadelphia has also also allowed the third-most fantasy points per game to tight ends through four weeks.
Ebron saw a bit more work in Week 2 and had two more catches after recording just one catch in Week 1. With all the outside weapons, including Chase Claypool starting to make some noise, Ebron is going to be a difficult week-to-week option at the tight end position. He's our No. 19 TE this week.
Week 2 vs Broncos
JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson combined for 16 of Pittsburgh's 31 targets on Monday, while the rest were spread out pretty evenly. Meaning the early returns weren't great for either tight end in Pittsburgh. In fact, Ebron and Vance McDonald both saw two targets and each had one catch. Ebron is still the more likely option to score for Pittsburgh, but still remains a deep option as our No. 22 tight end. For the record, Denver has already allowed a touchdown to a tight end, as Jonnu Smith scored for the Titans on Monday.
Ebron resurrected his career in 2019 with the Colts and could act as an extra wide receiver in Pittsburgh, as the team only kept five of them on the 53-man roster. Vance McDonald is still around, but likely won't dig too much into Ebron's production. Ebron is a TE2 for now but could work his way into back-end TE1 conversation. He sits as our No. 18 TE but does face a leaky Giants defense.
Fantasy Upside
After resurrecting his career with the Colts after a disappointing stint with the Lions, Ebron signed as a free agent this offseason with the Steelers and could take over as the top tight end. As our Eric Moody wrote in his full profile of Ebron, "Ebron has landed in a great situation in Pittsburgh. Back in 2018, Steelers' tight ends Vance McDonald and Jesse James combined for 111 targets, 80 receptions, 1,033 receiving yards and six touchdowns." Ebron should also see plenty of red-zone targets so his touchdown rate should continue after leading all tight ends in touchdowns over the last two seasons (16).
Fantasy Downside
Vance McDonald is still around after the Steelers restructured his contract for 2020. But he's not expected to dig too much into Ebron's workload. If anything, the Steelers can mix between 11 and 12 personnel.
2020 Bottom Line
Ebron has some sleeper value as our current TE19 in 0.5PPR. Tight end is going to be almost like a roulette wheel after the top guys are gone. With Roethlisberger as his quarterback and possibly the top red-zone option, Ebron can climb his way into the conversation as a weekly TE1 as the season progresses. And he's still only 26 years old.
