Hockenson it is... :)

The War Room Detroit Lions — The Den
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Then again, Hockenson is also a dual-threat tight end who is both dangerous as a pass catcher and lethal as a blocker, and Detroit has a profound need at the position.

“I think he’s the safest player in the draft,” Jeremiah said. “I watched him the day after watching Rob Gronkowski live in person in the playoff game against the Chargers, and I saw Gronk completely dominate a football game without having to really catch the ball. He was just so dominant in the run game. And then I flip on this kid and he’s not as tall as Gronk, and I don’t compare anybody to Gronk – he’s at a whole different level in terms of what he can do – but I saw this kid with the same temperament and nastiness in the run game and controlling the run game. On top of that, he does nothing but get open and catch everything they throw to them.

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Well, at least there are no red flags!

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If we trade way down, sure. Not at 8.

4

We had to pick 4 top WR to get CJ. If Quinn gets it in 3, he’s just that much better than Millen.

Of course, taking CJ didn’t win us anything, but let’s not let that get in the way of a new shiny offensive skill position at the expense of the trenches.

5

This will be his first TE.

6

A great blocking TE that can actually run routes AND catch the ball is as big as L-Tackle, just ask Belichek.

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This guy better be a Hall of Famer to be drafted in the top ten. Any less and it will be an abject failure. Not sure why this guy is getting so much hype, maybe his agent is paying these talking head to overvalue him. Personally I don’t even think he is the best TE prospect on his team.

8

Smoke screen. There’s too much talk!

9

I remember all the talk about Pettigrew being the best all around TE in decades and like having another LT on the field

Yet I don’t really remember him being an impact blocker and overall I wouldn’t consider him a good pick

Most of us wanted a LB of OL that pick and the Lions should have in hindsight

10

Plenty of TE in rd 2. This is a defensive star draft and it will be a defensive player at 8OA. All else is jibber jabber

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And the crazy thing about Pettigrew is his targets just dropped off a cliff.

2012 - 769 snaps, 102 targets.

2013 - 901 snaps, 63 targets.

2014 - 587 snaps, 15 targets

2015 - 285 snaps, 15 targets

So bizarre. Makes no sense to me. Did he lose some fingers? I don’t remember a cast on either hand…

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Assuming Hockerson is a first round pick, in the last ten years after this draft there will have been only 9 TEs drafted in the first round.

If the Lions draft Hockerson they will have picked 3 of them

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Well they did draft Ebron in 2014. I think Pettigrew became useful for Caldwell’s offense as a blocker.

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14

“If the Lions plan on recreating some of the magic made in Seattle, they made need to find themselves a premier tight end. Bevell stressed the importance of having a piece like that in his offense back in 2014”.

“It’s huge—to be able to have a mismatch on linebackers, and to be able to try and find that—the defense has to decide, ‘ok, is the matchup with the linebacker the correct one to use or do we need to start putting safeties on them?’ Then that does different things for us—then we have to look at the matchups and sometimes it uncovers some disguises and all those kinds of things that can open up when you have a factor that’s there in the middle.”

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There will be quality TE’s in the third and fourth rounds

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16

That’s exactly what Lombardi was saying when we drafted Ebron over Donald

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That was also my first thought

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Well, it’s the obvious strategy because everyone knows that it was Jimmy Graham that made Drew Brees, not the other way around…

And where would Brady be without Gronk? He’d be the same loser as everyone else. Remember those years he was injured for half the seson and the Patriots only had single digit wins?

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Tight end, down-sized : Of the three tight ends who are considered first-round prospects, Irv Smith of Alabama was the one who came up short in the measurements. Alabama listed him at 6-4, 241. His Combine measurement was 6-2-3, 242. The other two, from Iowa: T.J. Hockenson, 6-4-6, 251; Noah Fant, 6-4-1, 249. (measurements are in eighths of an inch.) – Mike O’Hara

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Watching the combine this morning and trying hard not to link the fact that the Lions TE coach is running drills with the fact that we absolutely need an upgrade …and the number 8 pick. But Hockenson does look impressive.