Confident Eric Ebron 'Missing Link' to Steelers

Eric Ebron's smile, warm welcome, and big-play ability has the Steelers feeling the impact of the new tight end.

PITTSBURGH -- Eric Ebron has brought a smile to almost every photo taken of him during training camp. Whether he knows the camera is on him or not, it's like he's walking around like a kid in a candy store. 

As media reported to the field for the first time on Monday, the new tight end greeted them with a hardy, "Welcome to practice." A simple but impactful way to meet his new reporters. But really, that's what Pittsburgh should expect from Ebron. 

"He's a confident guy. Which you would expect from a guy who's a first-round, top-20 draft pick," tight end coach James Daniels said Tuesday. "He's got a lot of confidence in himself. He brings a lot of personality because that's just him being himself. It's good to have those personalities on a football team and fit all those personalities together. I think he'll bring extra energy to our football team."

That extra energy is something his teammates have noticed already. Tight end Vance McDonald jokingly told media that Ebron is the "missing link," to the Steelers offense.

"I love Eric [Ebron]," McDonald said. "He's been so fun to be around in the short time he's been here. I love his play-making ability at tight end, so it'll be really awesome to see him fit in. Obviously, everyone is going to thrive with Eric on the field, simply because of the threat that he is. He's going to have to pull a good amount of attention from the defense, so I think it'll be fun seeing what he can do this year."

With that missing link now in Pittsburgh, McDonald said to expect him to "dunk" on everyone this season. A promise he knows will come with a Pro Bowl tight end on the field with him.

As for expectations for Ebron's role in the offense, coach Daniels said it's still too early to know how the tight end position will look this season. For now, they're sticking with what Ebron does best. 

"Ebron's calling-card for the time he's been in the league has been his pass-catching ability," Daniels said. "He's got some quickness, a little speed, some route-running stuff that a lot of guys don't have. I think that would be what we expect him to bring to the table."

Noah Strackbein is a Publisher with AllSteelers. Follow Noah on Twitter @NoahStrack, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.