TJ Hockenson is ready to line up anywhere
EAGAN — When TJ Hockenson arrived in Minnesota via a trade deadline deal with Detroit, he had only a couple days to learn enough about the offense to get on the field against the Washington Commanders. He ended up playing 60 snaps and catching nine passes and never looked back.
By the end of the year, Hockenson became one of Kirk Cousins’s favorite weapons, posting 70 catches in 11 games for 648 yards and three touchdowns. Against the New York Giants in the playoffs, the ex-Lion made the G-Men pay for loading up their defensive resources on Justin Jefferson by catching 10 passes on 10 targets for 129 yards, the second best total of his career.
That might lead you to believe that experience in an offensive system is overrated but that’s not how the Vikings’ tight end is viewing it coming into Organized Team Activities.
“It’s nice to have the foundation of things but it’s understanding where things come from, last year it was memorization and knowing the concept but now I know where the word comes from and how it attaches to the offense and things like that,” Hockenson said following practice on Tuesday. “It’s a lot better to come in and get that more in-depth conversation.”
There’s also a new wrinkle to the Vikings’ offense that is likely to impact Hockenson’s role: Josh Oliver.
The Vikings signed Oliver this offseason to boost their run blocking (he ranked as PFF’s second best run blocking TE in the NFL last year). Based on the ex-Raven’s contract, it’s easy to surmise that the Vikings will be playing in more two-TE personnel groupings in 2023.
That’s cool with Hockenson.
“He’s great…he’s massive,” Hockenson said of Oliver. “I don’t know if you guys have seen him around but the dude is jacked. Just being able to have that in your arsenal is great….to be able to play 12 personnel [one RB, two TE]…it’s a luxury. You don’t get many guys as hard-nosed as [Oliver].”
When both tight ends are on the field, there is a good chance that the massive jacked guy is going to play in a traditional TE spot attached to the line of scrimmage. That means Hockenson lining up in different positions, whether it’s in the slot or as an outside wide receiver.
That’s something he’s grown accustomed to doing. When he was in college, Hockenson played the position in the traditional manner but the Lions wanted him to be able to move around. He worked with slot receiver Danny Amendola, who helped him better understand how to read defenses and attack defenders’ leverage when starting from the slot.
“To be able to see route runners do what they do in the slot, even being here and watching JJ [Justin Jefferson] for a half year was huge getting tidbits that I can actually do,” Hockenson said.
Moving around won’t be a foreign concept in Kevin O’Connell’s offense. Last year, per PFF, Hockenson lined up 36% of the time as a slot receiver and 14% on the outside — meaning that half his snaps were somewhere else aside from being next to the tackle.
The veteran tight end said that mastering details of each position and concept is a main OTA goal but it’s equally important to get to know everyone better in a more relaxed setting as opposed to being tossed into the deep end in the heart of the season.
“For me it’s to be here with the guys and to get to know everybody,” he said. “Last year during my brief four months here it was like, I’m in the playbook, I’m trying to figure out what’s going on week to week and focused on that one thing rather than getting to know a guy and understand them as a person. That’s been huge for me to get out with these guys and hang out with them outside of the building…that’s been a blast for me.”
How long the 2019 eighth overall pick will be having a blast in Minnesota remains still in question as he participates in OTAs. His contract is up after this year and while it’s assumed that both sides would like to work out an extension, there hasn’t been any reports that a new deal is imminent.
“That’s not really anything I’m focused on,” Hockenson said. “It’s no secret that that’s coming up but that’s not [something] I’m worried about. I’m just out here playing football, having fun with the guys enjoying the city of Minneapolis and trying to get out around these fans because this is a place I want to be.”
