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Rookie tight end Eric Ebron is enjoying his first week as a member of the Detroit Lions, despite the overwhelming amount of information he's trying to process.

(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

ALLEN PARK -- When Detroit Lions rookie Eric Ebron was introduced to the media the day after he was drafted by the organization, he said the whole thing still felt fake. Two months removed from his 21st birthday, the tight end hadn't fully grasped he was now an NFL player.

That reality hit Ebron like a ton of bricks earlier this week he lined up next to superstar wide receiver Calvin Johnson while running a play at the team's practice facility.

"It's fun when you line up beside Calvin Johnson and he asks you, 'You good,' and you answer, 'Yeah, I'm good,' but you're still shaking because you're lining up next to Calvin Johnson," Ebron said with a smile.

As for catching passes from Matthew Stafford, Ebron is still waiting to see the quarterback's vaunted arm strength.

"He really hasn't let it rip yet and you can tell," Ebron said.

Detroit's rookies have been in town since Monday, but the team officially opened its three-day minicamp for first-year players on Friday. Coach Jim Caldwell said the team is overloading the participants with information, partially just to see how they'll respond.

"They're trying to absorb a lot of information in a very short period of time, but that's kind of part of the test, to see how much they can absorb and how much they can apply," Caldwell said.

Ebron admits, the Lions' playbook can be imposing, but he's tackling the challenge head on.

"Of course your head is swimming," Ebron said. "I think I had a migraine 30 seconds after we started going over the playbook, but it's very fun. It's fun to learn new things, and once you grasp it, and you can do it full speed, you understand why they coached you so hard."

Given the diverse responsibilities of a tight end, it can be one of the toughest offensive positions to learn. Ebron believes it might be behind only quarterback, in terms of the complexity.

Caldwell has been pleased with the initial returns from the team's first-round draft pick, praising Ebron's engagement in the meeting rooms and general passion in everything he does.

"He's adapting and doing all the things you'd anticipate he'd do," Caldwell said. "Let's just put it this way, his reputation preceded him and he's living up to it."

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