The Minnesota Vikings made a massive splash in acquiring tight end T.J. Hockenson from the Detroit Lions on Tuesday right before the trade deadline.
He will slot in right away as the starting tight end with Irv Smith Jr. being placed on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain that will keep him out for the next 8-10 weeks.
To get a better sense of what the Vikings are getting with Hockenson, we spoke with Jeff Risdon of Lions Wire about Hockenson.
What is the reaction to the trade?
T.J. Hockenson is a tough one to lose from Detroit. Good player. Good teammate. But there’s a limit on how much a team can pay for “good” instead of “great”, and that’s always been the rub for Hockenson in Detroit.
How has he produced as a receiver?
He topped 100 receiving yards in his first NFL game back in 2019 after being a largely unpopular selection with the No. 8 overall pick in that draft. He didn’t top 100 yards again until his spectacular Week 4 this season when he had one of the 10 best games in NFL history for a TE. In between, he fluttered right around his career average of four catches for 44 yards per game. Hockenson was under that total in four of the first five games of 2022.
Hockenson was a great blocker at Iowa. Has that translated?
As a blocker, Hockenson has never really emerged as hoped. He’s physical but can be lazy with his technique in-line. Outside of a couple of notable instances, Hockenson has never been good at engaging targets in space in the run game. There’s a lot of him being the guy helping up D’Andre Swift or Jamaal Williams after they’re tackled by the guy he was supposed to block, and I doubt that changes much in a new uniform.
How is Hockenson as a receiver?
Hockenson is at his best as the inside slot option out of a bunch formation or flexed inside a deep outside threat. Minnesota has that in Justin Jefferson and I suspect that’s how Minnesota will utilize him. He’s a good route runner and knows how to present himself as a big target. Lions fans berate his hands and he did have some drops (3 on 43 targets this year), but in general, he’s strong with the ball and can catch outside his frame. Outside of two (admittedly awesome) long runs after the catch this year, he’s a guy who goes down on the first tackle attempt way too much and I don’t see that changing either.
Has Hockenson been durable?
He’s missed 9 games, four in 2019 and the last five last season, with different lower-body injuries. Hock’s been on the weekly injury report for 28 of the last 32 weeks he’s been active. Hockenson is tough and will play through stuff, but there always seems to be that stuff.
Why did the Lions choose to move on from Hockenson?
By far the biggest reason the Lions traded him was the financial part of the equation. He’s under contract through 2023 on the fifth-year option at $9.4M. Very loud whispers about negotiations for his next deal put his absolute contractual floor at what David Njoku got from the Browns (4 yrs/$54.75M). Figure on demands of at least $15M a year and almost all of it guaranteed. Detroit was not going to pay that much nor were they in a position to, not for a player typically fourth or fifth on the team in targets each week who is an average blocker and has some durability concerns.
