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December 4, 2021
T.J. Hockenson
has been a bright spot for the Lions this season, and he has now been
recognized on a league-wide list.
There aren’t many good things going for
the Detroit
Lions’ offense this season, but tight end T.J.
Hockenson is clearly one. He’s leading the team in catches (57), targets (76), receiving yards (534)
and receiving touchdowns (three), and with running back D’Andre Swift possibly
out multiple games Hockenson is
set to lap the field of Lions’ remaining pass catchers.
Hockenson is generally
regarded among the league’s best tight ends. He has not had a dropped pass yet
this season, with a contested catch rate that’s second-best at
the position (71.4 percent).
T.J. Hockenson gets recognized on list of best pass
catchers in NFL
Hockenson, the only tight end
on the list, came in at No. 10, Here’s what Shook wrote.
….Hockenson
earned his spot in part because he’s seen more targets than any other
pass-catcher on the Lions’ roster. Jared Goff has relied heavily on
Hockenson because, well, the
Pro Bowl tight end has proven he’ll catch the ball more consistently than any
of his teammates. Although he and rookie receiver Amon-Ra St.
Brown are tied in catch percentage (75%), Hockenson’s reliability stands
out when you consider he’s seen a significantly higher volume of targets (76 to
Brown’s 52).
But enough
with splitting numerical hairs. Hockenson owns the best catch rate over expected on targets of fewer
than 10 air yards — his wheelhouse as a traditional tight end — and his +5.4
percent catch rate over expected is the second best among NFL tight ends this
season. He’s also expanded his capabilities, recording a catch rate over
expected of +8.3 percent down the seams (-1.2% in 2020).
In light of Goff’s tendency to hardly throw downfield,
Hockenson’s proficiency on targets of fewer than 10 air yards isn’t too
surprising. But his catch rate over expected down the seams is net 9.5 percent
higher than last year when Matthew Stafford was his quarterback. The latter
number is an easy function of Hockenson playing the second-most slot snaps
among tight ends thus far this season (220, according to Player Profiler).
Hockenson is the Lions’
No. 1 receiver, and he’s in line for even more targets while Swift is
out. A bright spot in a winless season so far for Detroit has been
recognized broadly, with deeper data backing it up.
