How much do you pay a TE that gets you 600 yards, and 6 TD’s? Asking for a friend.
Obviously no where near Kelce or Kittle money.
But those are approx the numbers he has averaged, so it’s reasonable to use that as a comp tool.
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As far as the player themselves I agree - Not a good comparison.
As far as their numbers go I don’t think they are tremendously different. I am specifically looking at numbers only and not intangibles/locker room fit for this discussion. That is really important though and may be one of the reasons the FO is willing to pay Hock a bit more.
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Let your friend know that David Njoku got $13.7M APY with 475 yards and 4 TD’s . . . so I guess more than that.
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Excellent question!
TE’s in that range:
Their salaries (AVG/Year in 2021 or this year per Spotrac)
- Gronk: $8,000,000
- Gesicki: $10,931,000 (Franchise Tag)
- Ertz: $10,550,000
- Fant: $3,147,680 (Rookie contract)
- Waller: $7,450,000 (Signed in 2022)
- Kmet: $1,894,445
- Henry: $12,500,000
- Conklin: $6,750,000
- Knox: $880,400
- Hockensen: $4,955,306
- Cook: $858,333
- Higbee: $7,250,000
Looking at these numbers makes me believe my initial assessment of the Lions offering Hock Kittle money to be way off.
I’ve got to believe they will be offering something closer to Waller’s contract?
Edit: Ugh, just read Deadstrokes note about Njoku getting $13.7m/y. No friggin way…not a fan of that.
Edit2: Madden calling Hock the 5th best TE in the NFL. I’m open to the reality that my evaluation of Hock is/was as bad as my take on Stafford. 
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Unless he’s a complete bust they are gonna extend JaMo anyways. They likely won’t have to choose between the two.
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You are right - It likely won’t be a binary choice between Hock and Jamo. That was an example. It wasn’t meant to be literal - apologies if it wasn’t clear.
GM’s need to choose constantly to let good players go because they’ve got too much money tied up elsewhere. Did the Chiefs want to let Hill go? Or, were they unable to pay him bc they have too much money tied up elsewhere, including with Kelce at TE?
I don’t want the Lions to have a ton of money tied up in a TE unless he’s remarkably special. I’m ok with the money being tied up with QB’s, WR, OL, DL, and CB’s though. Just a personal preference on how I might build a team. I’d hate to lose a great player we drafted at any of those positions after 4 years bc we’re paying an avg/above avg TE elite player money. I think it’s easier to replace Hock than it is, to extend the example, Jamo or Sewell.
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But this has been the type of thing that has derailed this team. This is why they have picked three TEs in the first round in a ten year span. That is wasted resources….especially when you needed impact players in other areas. I just wanna be careful not to over think this. Well what you and I think don’t matter but I’m just saying for the sake of debate….I don’t think this is gonna be an issue.
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Haha, yeah for sure…If there’s one thing the Lions don’t need to worry about quite yet, it’s having too many good players that they can’t retain them all. 
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And perhaps some blocking metric too. In our vision of offense, a TE who can get open, catch for a 1st down and then fall down is valuable. Hock can do that. Where he’s disappointed is with his blocking. That was his selling point as a #8OA pick. If he shows he can block at an elite level in 2022, show him the money next off-season and be happy with the added premium you’ll have to pay. So I say…
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He has missed some games for sure, but it’s not as bad as some might think. He’s started 40 of 49 games in his career, so still over 80%.
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Browns paid a sexual predator over $200 million guaranteed… so I think all of us can be skeptical about their front office these days.
On the bright side… Deshaun didn’t get caught on camera like Kareem Hunt.
I am optimistic by nature….
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I think I saw Potsie was running for Mayor of some town in Cali.
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Weren’t we paying Jessie James almost 9 million to suck at Tight End?
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Do you have to remind us!? haha man he was a terrible signing.
Quick name a Bob Quinn free agent signing that worked out well!? It’s not easy to do.
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Apparently Hock is an 89 overall in Madden and top 10 TE so I wonder how that will play into his contract negotiations.
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Are you suggestion the Lions use Cleveland as an example of how to do a contract? oof.
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Dallas Goedert had 524 yards and 3 TD’s in 2020 before signing for $14.25M midway through the 2021 season
Hunter Henry had 613 yards and 4TD’s in 2020 before signing for $12.5M with Patriots in 2021
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I do not put Hock in front of Henry, Pitts, or Ertz, I probably wouldnt put him in the top 10 of that list.
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Pitts is talented, but calling him a tight end is a real stretch.
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Well, maybe near the bottom of that list somewhere but definitely not 5.