Eric Ebron on Lions' draft class: 'We’re all like best friends'

The Detroit Lions' eight 2014 draft picks have only been teammates for around seven weeks. Even so, they've already become a pretty close group. They first had a chance to really bond during the Lions' rookie minicamp right after the draft, and they spent more time with each other during OTAs and the team's mandatory minicamp. Recently, they got a chance to spend even more time together with a "rookie week" in Detroit and the NFL Rookie Symposium in Ohio.

For the "rookie week," the Lions kept their draft picks in town after wrapping up their offseason program to go through some extra training with Galen Duncan, who is the team's senior director of player development. According to the Lions' official site, this included various things based around "grooming, social networking, communication, dining and business etiquette." In other words, the players learned about skills that they can use outside of football.

Following the extra training with Duncan, the Lions' draft class headed to the NFL Rookie Symposium. There, they continued to bond, and Eric Ebron actually said that the eight picks are already "like best friends." From the Detroit News:

"We’re all like best friends," tight end Eric Ebron said. "At my wedding next year, I would invite every last one of these rookies to my wedding just because I understand they got my back."

In recent years, after dealing with so many issues off the field in 2012, the Lions have really put an emphasis on drafting high-character guys. Just based on initial impressions from interviews, the Lions' eight picks certainly seem to fit that description, and it seems that they have already formed a pretty strong bond off the field.