Eric Ebron is arguably still at the height of his NFL career.

The 26-year-old tight end, a former first-round draft pick of the Detroit Lions, is just one year removed from his first Pro Bowl appearance, a nod to a breakout with the Indianapolis Colts that included 66 catches, 13 touchdowns and a pivotal role on a surprise playoff team. His numbers aren't as gaudy alongside Jack Doyle in 2019, but the North Carolina product remains a mainstay of Indy's offense, chipping in with some big plays as the Colts make a run at an AFC South title.

And yet football isn't the only thing on Ebron's mind as he builds on his six-year resume. As explained in a new edition of "Plan for Amazing," the series from John Hancock and The Players Tribune profiling NFL stars with plans for after the gridiron, Ebron intends on using retirement to become his own version of a superhero.

A firefighter.

When Ebron was 16, he explains in the series, a house across the street from his suffered a basement fire. The tight end's uncle, a fireman at the time, was quick to tend to the scene, rushing to the neighbors' home, kicking out a window to release smoke from the basement, then calling authorities to finish the job.

"It was, like, the coolest thing to see," Ebron says. "And when I saw that, it was kind of like, 'That's what I want to do.' It seemed pretty cool. It was like a superhero at that point in time."

Since then, Ebron's seen other family dedicate themselves to similar service, whether as firemen, policemen or in the military. His grandfather, he says, served in three different wars. 

"Heroes have played a big role, a pivotal role in my childhood," he adds.

It's only natural that he's now got his eyes on a career in a fire department. Ebron has always viewed firemen as having a "rush and an exhilaration about them" and appreciated how "they mean (something) to someone else -- the community, the people, the lives they save." So while he's still fully committed to lining up on the football field, he's also spent time learning the ropes (and hoses) of area firehouses with the intention of transitioning to one down the road.

"Having a backup plan is very smart," he says. "So being a firefighter is just a doorway for me to enter retirement. I think there's a huge similarity between being a player on the football field or a person in a firehouse. You depend on that one guy, and those 10 other guys believe in that one guy to do his job. It's the same thing on a firetruck. Those guys depend on each other. When we win, we win as a team."

When Ebron is finished with the NFL, he says his main goal is to be remembered a hero -- just like his father and grandfather before him. He cites courage, curiosity and legacy as his driving factors, not to mention the children that will be looking up to him.

"The 'why' the past couple years has been my kids," he says. "That's been the 'why' behind 99.8 percent of the things I do."