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Jan 26, 2022 at 08:23 AM
Senior Writer
The good: Third-year
veteran T.J. Hockenson continues to prove he's one of the best young
tight ends in the NFL. He
was on pace to topping his Pro Bowl numbers from 2020 in receptions, yards and
touchdowns before a thumb injury cost him the final five games of the
regular season. He recorded at least six receptions in half the games he played
this season.
Hockenson
(61), wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (90) and running
back D'Andre Swift (60) became the first tight end, receiver and
running back trio to each catch 60 passes in a season in franchise history. The
Pittsburgh Steelers were the only other team in the NFL to accomplish the feat
in 2021.
Hockenson's 5.1 receptions per game
average was third best among NFL tight ends, and his catch percentage of 72.6
percent was sixth best. Hockenson is only the second Lions tight end to have 60
receptions in consecutive seasons and first since Brandon
Pettigrew in the 2010-11 seasons.
Undrafted
rookie Brock Wright came on strong at the end of the season having to
play a bigger role with Hockenson out. He caught touchdown passes in both the
Lions wins over Minnesota and Green Bay to finish the year.
Hybrid
fullback/tight end Jason Cabinda proved to be a versatile weapon in
Detroit's scheme. His ability to play both fullback and some tight end gives
the Lions some flexibility with the roster.
The bad: Wright
got a chance to be the team's No. 1 tight end the last month of the season
because of the Hockenson injury, but he was elevated to No. 2 status midseason
after the team and veteran tight end Darren Fells agreed to mutually part ways.
Fells never really fit in Detroit in his second stint with the team after
signing as a free agent. He caught just four passes for 43 yards in seven games
played with the Lions in 2021.
After
playing in all 16 games in 2020, Hockenson missed five games this season due to
a thumb injury. He missed the last four games of his rookie season due to an
ankle injury.
Key stat: Hockenson has the most touchdowns (12) by a Lions
tight end through his first three seasons, and ranks fifth in franchise history
for receptions (160) by a player before turning 25 years old.
Free agents: Jason
Cabinda (restricted), Brock Wright (Exclusive rights).
Cabinda
is a Pro Bowl alternate at fullback, but he's included here for his ability to
slide into some tight end concepts and play a role there too. It wouldn't be
surprising to see the Lions try to re-sign Cabinda.
If the
Lions want Wright back, he'll be a Lion, and there's no reason to think the
team won't want to continue to develop his skill set moving forward.
The NFL
free-agent class of tight ends includes names like: Mike Gesicki, Dalton
Schultz, David Njoku, Zach Ertz and Gerald Everett.
Draft: It's not a particularly strong
class of tight ends, but there's talent to be had in Days 2 & 3 of the
draft. Jalen Wydermyer (Texas A&M), Trey McBride (Colorado State), Jeremy
Ruckert (Ohio State) and Greg Dulcich (UCLA) are a few names to keep an eye on.
MVP: Hockenson continues to ascend into the top tier of
tight ends. He and Baltimore's Mark Andrews were the only tight ends in the
league this year to have four or more games with at least eight receptions.
Hockenson is the only Lions tight end to ever accomplish the feat. He was also
fifth among the league's tight ends with 11 recorded contested catches, per Pro
Football Focus.
The sky
is the limit for Hockenson in this offense as long as he stays healthy.
Entering his fourth season in 2022 (the Lions do have a fifth-year option for
2023), Hockenson could be a candidate for re-signing this offseason.
Most improved: Wright
signed with Detroit as an undrafted rookie out of Notre Dame with a reputation
for being a block-first tight end. But Lions coaches quickly realized that
wasn't the case as he continued to make plays in the passing game on the
practice field. It became clear Wright had the skill set, he just wasn't given
much of an opportunity to show it off in South Bend.
Wright
has good speed and soft hands at 6-foot-5, 259 pounds, and his progression from
training camp to the end of the season was pretty remarkable. He proved in 10
games played he can play and produce in this league.
Quotable: "I'm going to work
out down in Nashville," Hockenson said after the season of his offseason
plans. "George (Kittle) and all those guys. Me going down there, I think
every year I continue to get better. This year at the beginning of the year,
that was the best I ever felt, best football that I thought I was playing.
"So,
obviously I'm just going to continue on that, continue to build. It's just
day-by-day, week-by-week. Just trying to get one percent better and I think
that's what we're trying to do here, build that culture, and then what that
builds with everybody. Everybody goes to their respective homes in the offseason
which is kind of a unique thing with the league. So trusting that guys are
getting one percent better and just continue to build."
