After my initial freakout over the Lions drafting another TE not only in the first round, but in the Top Ten, I summed it up with four words: “He better be elite.”
You simply don’t draft TEs that high, and for the very rare few who do, that player has to be not just good, but great.
T.J. Hockenson has been almost a complete nonfactor. He had the concussion scare at one point, but there is nothing to indicate that can be an excuse now. And before that, with the exception of his first game, he’s been invisible.
Let’s look at the top half of this year’s draft, and see how players are doing.
Kyler Murray, QB, Cardinals – already starting and looking good.
Nick Bosa, DE, 49ers – not just in running for Rookie of the Year, but perhaps NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Quinnen Williams, DT, Jets – Probably the only player on this list as or more disappointing than Hock.
Clelin Farrell, DE, Raiders – 24 tackles and 3.5 sacks so far. Solid, if unspectacular, for a rookie DE. And he seems to be getting better recently.
Devin White, ILB, Bucs – had 13 tackles Sunday vs. the Saints.
Daniel Jones, QB, NYG – Starter, doing well.
Josh Allen, OLB, Jags – 8 sacks already.
Hockenson - 349 receiving yards, 2 TDs. Of that, 131 yds and 1 TD came in the first game.
Ed Oliver, DT, Bills – 23 tackles and 2 sacks, pretty good so far for a rookie DT.
Devin Bush, ILB, Steelers – 74 tackles, sack, two INTs. A star.
Jonah Williams, OT, Bengals - Injured, out for season.
Christian Wilkins, DT, Dolphins - 36 tackles and a sack. Pretty decent.
Chris Lindstrom, OG, Falcons - On IR.
Dwayne Haskins, QB, Redskins - Starting.
Brian Burns, DE, Panthers - 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble.
For a team with as many needs as the Lions, this is disastrous. It harkens back to the old Millenhew days, when year after year, we didn’t get longstanding, useful quality out of our first rounds.
This is where a bunch of people say, “You can tell Hockenson is going to be a FORCE!”
Really? You can? That’s pure speculation on your part. I’ll just go with the actual production, thanks. I believe that’s what Top Ten picks in the NFL Draft should be based upon.
I put the output much less on Hock and much more on Bevell. That’s fine as what Bevell is delivering is very good. But Quinn put his eggs in a basket that Bevell isn’t that interested in using. Who is getting Hock’s action? 400 year old Danny Amendola is. This would be bad enough if we weren’t paying Jesse James good FA money to be a total non factor. The only thing that could have been worse, is if Gronk hadn’t have put the kibosh on a trade. Then we would have paid a #8 pick and huge FA money on an old broken TE while Danny A was getting his targets.
The part about the TE position and TJ needing to be Gronk/Kittle was what I said before the draft. And what makes it worse is that even Gronk and Kittle were not taken in the 1st round. Neither was Kelce, Ertz, Witten or most of the other “top TEs in football.”
I was against drafting him, but when we did I came around to see what he can bring.
But, I’ve just assumed they haven’t targeted him much since his concussion to protect their investment and give him more than ample time to recover. And so, I’m guessing they are asking him to learn the blocking end more instead.
Yes, at this point they are sorta tanking. In that they are protecting the players they have for next and future years. It is what it is. It’s not like TJ can’t have contributed more in the passing game. IMO they’ve written the year off and don’t want him taking big hits. I don’t think it’s because he can’t do more.
Maybe give him more than half a season before declaring him a bust or disappointment?
Sheesh.
Furthermore, I’ve noticed that they have him blocking a lot because the tackles get owned routinely and thus greatly lowering his pass catching opportunities. When he has been targeted, he has made impact although the few key drops he had were disappointing.
You want to talk about a waste? Look no further than the James signing. That one is a head scratcher considering that they already used the top pick on Hock.
Hock is 13th in yards among all TEs, He is tied for 20th in TDs. Keep in mind 1 more TD and he would be tied for 9th. Ther are 11 TEs tied for 9th in TDs. Youre tryng to compare him to mostly defensive players.
Yards: Hock 349
Kelce741
Ertz 621
Touchdowns: Hock 2
Kelce 3
Ertz 2
I consider those 2 elite TEs.
Aside from bosa non of the top half of that draft are elite. Compare him to all other TEs. Another thing that cant be quantified is his blocking.
You don’t understand what we are saying and I haven’t seen anyone call him a bust.
He looks fine but the problem is he needs to be all pro caliber before his rookie contract is up to justify taking him that high or its just shitty resource management.
Maybe we can revisit this at the end of his rookie contract. he has only played 9 games. How are his targets vs drops? How may defensive pressures has he allowed? How is hi run blocking? We drafted him for much more than just catching. We have jones and golladay for recieving.
IMO, it’s way too early to even say that he’s a disappointment. Rookie TEs almost always come out of the gate slow and they aren’t even utilizing him in the passing game. When he has been used in the passing game he has been getting open A LOT and has shown the ability to run well with the ball, a high end ability actually.
I get that he hasn’t held up to the standard of ridiculous fan expectation but to call it “disastrous” is absurd hyperbole that deserves to be called out.
By the end of next season, we’ll have a better handle on what he is. As of now, it’s way too early to make any judgements about the pick.
Sneaker, I think he is fine with what he is saying. It’s 9 games into his career, we are a long way from the end of his rookie contract. Going into then draft he was considered the last elite prospect. Some might not like the draft position but I’d rather take an elite talent then reach for a marginal player bc we need help at that position. Burns is great an all right now and his 4 sacks are great but none of us know if he is going to be an all pro caliber player and that is what your saying when you pick ANYONE at 8. Lions just decided their best chance of those remaining at a all pro talent was TJ.
For the record I really wanted Josh Allen but he wasn’t getting past the JAGS and he has been as advertised. But I’ll take TJ over those taken after of them.