The Lions have tinkered with their tight end group this offseason, signing Darren Fells in free agency and nabbing Toledo product Michael Roberts in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Eric Ebron is planning on reaping the benefits of the new additions heading into his fourth NFL season.

The former first-round pick set career-highs in receptions (61) and receiving yards (711) in 2016, ranking in the top 10 in both categories among all tight ends. A lack of a consistent second option at the position, however, potentially robbed him of even better numbers.

Last season, 68 percent of Ebron's snaps had him positioned as an in-line tight end, per Pro Football Focus. With Fells known for his blocking prowess, it allows Jim Bob Cooter to employ more two-tight end sets and line Ebron up in the slot or on the outside more often to create mismatches in coverage.

"I think it's going to play a significant role for me to allow me to do the things that I'm best at," Ebron said, via the Detroit Free Press.

The maddening part of Ebron's game early on in his career has been drops. According to Pro Football Focus, Ebron's 10.3 percent drop rate last season -- he mishandled seven of his 68 catchable targets -- was No. 20 out of 22 qualifying tight ends.

The Lions exercised the 24-year-old weapon's fifth-year option this offseason. If Ebron wants to secure a long-term future in Detroit, though, he'll have to develop into more of a dependable target for Matthew Stafford.

"If you want to stay in this game, you have to be a consistent player," Ebron said, via the team's website. "I haven't been the best at consistency, but I haven't been the worst at it either. The more and more I grow in this game, the more and more I build it, the more and more I'm reliable.

"Really, the best ability in this game is reliability and accountability. I have to do both -- 100 percent of the time."