Lions' Al Golden working to refine Eric Ebron's skills

Newly hired Detroit Lions tight ends coach Al Golden is hoping to take the natural talent that made Eric Ebron a top-10 pick in 2014, and mould him into a productive receiving option in the wake of Calvin Johnson's retirement.

"He's very talented, and he's explosive, and he's strong," Golden said of Ebron recently, according to Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press. "He's probably stronger than he was when he first arrived. He's probably 256, 257, 258 (pounds), in that range. So, he's clearly strong. He's explosive. I'm just trying to help him refine. I'm trying to help him refine everything."

Ebron's raw production improved during his second season - with a respectable 47 catches for 537 yards and five touchdowns - but his inconsistent play was frustrating for both fans and coaches alike.

The fact that two young superstars at positions of need, in Odell Beckham Jr. and Aaron Donald, were drafted directly after him will always be a struggle for Ebron to overcome. But Golden, the former Miami coach who Ebron torched for 199 yards and a touchdown in college, is trying to focus on what the young tight end can do to improve himself.

"His challenge is not anybody else," Golden said. "His challenge is how does he develop his game, how can we improve his process and what skills can we refine to make sure we get his talent into the game?"

"I think the biggest thing for him is to put blinders on, stay intrinsically motivated, be around people that can make his world or his life better, that can help him improve and tune the rest of it out, to be honest with you," Golden said. "It's too premature for me to comment on anything other than that, but again, we lost some production obviously on offense, so he knows that he's got to be one of the components that keep that production where it was or increase it. And I know he's up to the challenge."