A closer look: Dedrick Epps

SAN DIEGO – One quarter and one nickel are the same as three dimes. A half-court swish counts for the same three points as an accidental bank shot from two inches behind the line. Whether you chug three bottles of water at lunch or sip them throughout the day, you consume 60 ounces. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and a bunch of parts can add up. Seventh-round draft pick Dedrick Epps counts on those principles as he seeks to prove his worth as an NFL tight end. The versatile rookie got a reputation at the University of Miami for being good, not great, at a lot of things. Not overwhelmingly powerful, the 6-foot-4, 250-pounder showed a willingness to block and handled defensive ends effectively. Epps won’t challenge Chris Johnson in a foot race but raced up the seam past linebackers if they were not careful. He didn’t make every catch, but he made some remarkable ones in traffic. He lined up in the backfield, outside the tackle and split out wide. ...