LIONS BANK ON TIGHT END
Hockenson drafted eighth overall
A year ago, Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn cut ties with tight end Eric Ebron, who was the club’s firstround pick in 2014.
Now, just a month after signing free-agent tight end Jesse James to a four-year deal for US$25 million, Quinn went back to the position on Thursday night.
The Lions selected University of Iowa tight end T.J. Hockenson with the eighth overall pick in the first round of the NFL Draft.
“I’m super happy to be a Lion,” Hockenson said. “It’s really a dream come true to be in the NFL and be in a great program like Detroit.” It marked just the fourth time since 1997 that a tight end has gone in the top 10 in the NFL Draft and the Lions are responsible for two of those selections with Ebron (10th overall) and now Hockenson. The selection was not greeted favourably on social media, but Quinn spoke specifically about the tight end position with the media prior to the draft and cautioned that his selection would not be influenced by the past.
“In all due respect to the fans out there, I can’t take the fan sentiment into who I draft and who I sign for this team,” Quinn said. “I wasn’t the person who drafted Eric (Ebron), so I think it’s a completely different. Two different conversations.”
But Detroit fans will look back to Ebron’s draft in 2014 and remember that the New York Giants got receiver Odell Beckham Jr. at No. 12 and the St. Louis (now Los Angeles) Rams took defensive tackle Aaron Donald at No. 13. Five of the first seven picks before the Lions selected on Thursday were defensive players and two others were quarterbacks, but the Lions still had the option to trade down, which the team declined, or grab a standout defensive tackle like the University of Houston’s Ed Oliver, who went to Buffalo one pick later.
The 21-year-old Hockenson left Iowa after just two seasons, but won the John Mackey Award in 2018 as the top tight end in college football and was also the Big Ten tight end of the year. Hockenson is also used to fighting for his catches as the Hawkeyes utilized a pair of tight ends last season in Hockenson and Noah Fant. Since 2000, Hockenson becomes the 10th tight end taken in the NFL Draft out of the Iowa.
While Fant is viewed as a more dynamic offensive player, the sixfoot-five, 250-pound Hockenson dropped just one of 64 targets last season. He finished with 46 catches for 717 yards and six touchdowns while also scoring a touchdown on his lone rushing attempt of the season.
“It’s super humbling and I’m super excited,” said Hockenson, the highest drafted tight end in the NFL since Vernon Davis went sixth overall in 2006. “I’m excited to get to Detroit and get to work. I’ve heard nothing but great things.” And while a solid receiver, Hockenson is also considered one of the best run-blocking tight ends in the draft. That won’t just help Detroit’s running game, but also provide protection for quarterback Matthew Stafford, who has been sacked 40 or more times in four of the past five seasons.
“I want to be a three-down tight end,” Hockenson said. Hockenson’s pick also marks the third time in four years running Detroit’s draft that Quinn has looked to offence with his firstround pick after taking offensive tackle Taylor Decker in 2016 and guard Frank Ragnow in 2018.