Hockenson Extension

He’s got a few years to right that.

love that movie…but the main plot is very sad.

It is sad. Sad that he tells Famke Jansen to go home…

DUDE!

I think he is our TE . . . I expect bigger things with a NFL caliber WR corp (instead of what we fielded last year).

I think it’s good to pay your guys. That’s one of the things that bothered me the most about Quinn, he jettisoned everyone from Mayhew’s team (and they were an 11-5 team).

I thought we really overpaid for Walker, but he’s a former draft pick and now the 3rd drafted player on a 2nd contract. Similar feeling with TJ, want him long-term and know we will overpay, but it’s better than UFA. Not saying give him whatever he wants, you always have to be willing to walk away, but a fair deal that is higher because of the Browns incompetence.

Full steam ahead!!!

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No arguments from me… he ‘s better than Njoku so far and I like to keep out own players.

I’m just not happy to pay a TE top 5 money…

if he hasn’t proven to be a top 5 guy…. which is why I think Brownies were bonkers to give Njoku that deal.

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I do kind of agree with this. It’s not a bad thing to wait another year, but it will be more expensive next year than this year and even more in 2024.

I still think I’d rather do it this year than next . . . but I’m not married to that thought.

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Man I was wayyy off on that Hock deal of 4/48…could be more like 4/64+ by the time it rolls around to sign him. :sweat_smile: I may be out at that price!

Let’s wait and see

Exactly! In addition, the franchise tag is only 10.9 million for his position currently. So he’s already playing this year, he’s on the team option (9.5?) next year, and the 11 million franchise tag after that. If you franchisees him again after that it’s only around 14 million. So the lions have him under reasonable team control for 4 more seasons. There’s zero rush

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The franchise tag figure is not stagnant.

It might have been $10.9 million based on the past contracts… but that will go up.

OTC already is projecting a $12.54 million salary for 2023 franchise tag TEs… which may go up now that teams like Browns are signing average TEs to huge deals.

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I would extend the contract with TJ.
Last year was not easy for him because everyone knew that he was our strongest weapon.
There was a lot of pressure and attention on him, there were also good punches he had to endure because of the short routes.
This year with the WR team and RB it will be much easier for him to develop the game and he will be much better and more dangerous, maybe to improve the blocking a bit and that’s it.
If we give him up or make him dissatisfied we will have one less weapon in the attack.
He fits into the Lions culture, he’s a good player, pay the man.

I know BigN may not like him because of the hairstyle, but Shakespeare wore a similar one so he made a career.

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Obviously :slight_smile: But yes, like inflation, when all costs rise the overall price may go up but the cost in relation to everything else does not. My point was that the team has him under relatively affordable team control for 4 more years. No reason to rush to lock up Hock for a 4 year deal at 14 million a year when the lions can already keep him for 4 years for less then that.

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That’s exactly how I feel we should be approaching things in Detroit.

The Hockenstention conversation off to an early start!

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Using the tag on Hock means not having the tag available for other negotiations. And you are only saving a few bucks. You don’t get to tag someone at the actual tag price multiple times. The price goes up each time.

I say pay the man or let him go after his 5th year. No reason to get cute with it.

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He’s a pro football player. Injuries happen.
He’s top 5 at his position. Salary commensurate with play…
You take the average number of games missed over 5 years and subtract that from the going rate and pay him.
If he thinks that’s not enough, let him test the market, or tag him.

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Good thought. And he could even have a playing time escalator to earn it back.

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Is he though? Does Top 5 mean anything?

No and no, based on the stats.

Here is Top TD by TEs last 3 years

Now yards, YPC, receptions and targets

,Most Receiving Yards By A Tight End 2019 To 2021 | StatMuse

He’s not anywhere near top 5 in yards, or yards per catch, or yards per game, and TDs he is in this giant group of guys within 3 or 4 TDs over 3 years, a few TDs behind #5 on the list.

What are you actually paying for? What incremental gain over a whole slew of guys on this list is actually showing up? None. There are 4 TEs showing elite production, then there is everyone else. Being the 5th TE is like being the 5th ranked TV show in your timeslot.

Note, we dont even see Njoku on these lists and he is getting $15m a year! Thats 8% of the cap!

Sorry, these are facts. Not wishes and hopes and eye test and coulda shoulda blah blah bs. The numbers, both raw and rate say he is exactly Hunter Henry/Tyler Higbee/Mike Geisicki and extremely similar to 3 or 4 others.

In other words…replaceable.

That guy has to play all year AND up his game by a good margin to even be in consideration. So far Hock is just another guy. David Sloan with long hair.

Production, not hopium.

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There were people on here that proclaimed that TE position was fine and we didn’t need 1 in the draft. Probably true that we didn’t need 1, we needed 2. In such a deep draft several UDFA’s were available and although we didn’t get the guy I wanted, Austin Allen, Nolan Givan was a great pickup. Very little production until he went to Southeastern Louisiana where he had my boy Cole Kelley throwing him the ball, 56 receptions for 572 yards last year. I’m not a fan of Wright but he is likely to make the 53 man roster with Givan making the PS. Mitchell was a great addition, now we at least have NFL caliber players as backups. Hock was over drafted, if we keep him we just need to make sure he isn’t over paid. I actually am very high on fellow Hawkeye Sam LaPorta in next years draft, will be interesting to see how that class shakes out and how our guys respond this season.

I think this guy makes a splash. He looks fantastic. Not a super-tough guy, but reasonably tough, and beyond the athleticism you’d expect from the position. I think this dude could have some rookie challenges (TEs almost always do), but will have some BIG splash plays that will remind us that we got a bargain by drafting him where we did.

I agree w/this. I’m on the fence w/Hoch. I think he’s gotta boost his play to be “worthy,” but I’m confident he will. My bigger concern is his health. Dude is a youngster that has missed games every year. I do have concerns about his play, but the health issue is bigger for me.

I think he can do it…but I think he’s gonna be one lf those guys that are tough decisions. Controversial no matter what they do. Like some have said, he’s got 2 years to prove it…and DC will “culture him up” more, as building culture means building up one player at a time…that said…Can.He.Stay.Healthy?

Also → Get a haircut, man. You’ll lose 5 lbs, be cooler during games, be cooler during games, and look better.

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Holy crap!
Fells played one more game and had one less TD?
When I’m wrong, I’m really wrong.
I really don’t see what we’re worried about after seeing that list.
Let him test the market, match the price if it’s not crazy.

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