When the Steelers signed tight end Eric Ebron earlier this year to a two-year, $12 million contract, it marked yet another investment into the position.
After all, Vance McDonald already counts $3.8 million against the team's 2020 salary cap, while the Steelers spent a fifth-round draft pick on Zach Gentry in 2019.
But, it also begged the question: What exactly can we expect from the Steelers' tight ends in 2020?
"You want to be able to create unique personnel groups and matchups for those you compete against," Mike Tomlin said on a Steelers Nation Unite call this past week. "We are excited about having Ebron in the mix. We know that he and Vance McDonald are the type of duo that are capable of creating issues for people with their talent. We are excited about having those guys. We will sort out the usage of those guys week-to-week."
If recent history shows anything, it could mean big things for the position.
Historically speaking, despite the belief among some fans that the team never throws the ball to the tight end, the Steelers have used the position pretty prominently over the past decade. In the past 10 seasons, the Steelers' tight ends have averaged 68.9 receptions for 740.7 yards and 4.7 touchdowns on 100.1 pass targets:
And that was on teams with players such as Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell dominating the pass targets for the better part of the decade.
Of course, the Steelers were nowhere near those numbers in 2019, as McDonald, Nick Vannett, Xavier Grimble and Gentry combined to catch just 53 passes for 408 yards and three touchdowns on 76 targets.
All, with the exception of the touchdown totals, were the low-water marks for past decade. The interesting thing was that the reception total was just two fewer than the Steelers' tight ends had in 2010, the last time the team went to the Super Bowl.
But the Steelers also threw the ball a little less overall that season with Ben Roethlisberger suspended for the first four games of the season.
In 2019, the Steelers played all but six quarters without Roethlisberger. Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges manned the quarterback position with Roethlisberger out with an elbow injury.
Don't think that matters? In six quarters with Roethlisberger last season, McDonald had five receptions for 60 yards on seven targets. Had he continued at that pace with a full season with Roethlisberger, he would have caught 53 passes for 640 yards.
Instead, he finished with 38 catches for 273 yards. Injuries were a part of that, forcing him out of two games altogether and parts of some others, but the difference is obvious.
So, there is an expectation the Steelers' tight ends will bounce back in 2020 with Roethlisberger presumably back in the lineup.
That's where the addition of Ebron could also make a difference. Though the 28-year-old is listed as a tight end because of his 6-foot-4, 253-pound frame, he's actually more of a big wide receiver. And that's how the Steelers plan on using him.
"He’s a super-talented pass receiving tight end," Kevin Colbert said recently. "He had some injury issues last year. But when he is healthy, he really did some nice thing, especially the year he had Andrew Luck playing with him. There’s definitely athleticism. There’s red zone production. There’s run after the catch. He’s really a premiere kind of receiving tight end in this league when he’s healthy.
"It’s hard to predict health, but when he is healthy, he is a solid contributor and will give us another weapon in the passing game."
With a healthy Roethlisberger, Ebron and McDonald could flourish.
