Did the Lions Draft the Best Tight End in 2019?
In the 2019 NFL Draft, the Lions selected Iowa tight end T.J. Hockenson. It was a pick that was highly scrutinized by many due to the value -- or lack thereof -- of the position.
It's not often you see a tight end selected in the top 10 of the draft, and the Lions did it twice in six years -- they drafted Eric Ebron in the first round (No. 10 overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft.
When tight ends are selected that high, they must be franchise-changing types of players.
Oddly enough, Hockenson was not the only tight end drafted from Iowa in 2019.
The Denver Broncos selected Noah Fant -- Hockenson’s running mate while in college -- with the No. 20 overall selection.
One of the common questions I have received recently on Twitter has been certainly deserving of a full breakdown: Did the Lions select the wrong tight end from Iowa?
Naturally, both tight ends' careers will always be directly compared to each other.
In saying that, it is way too early to come to any conclusions, but we are still allowed to look at how each individual rookie season stacks up against one another.
First off, let's compare skill sets.
Despite being a solid athlete, Hockenson is still inferior to Fant in athletic ability.
Both are almost the exact same size.
Hockenson was supposed to be the more well-rounded player, and for the most part, he was his rookie season.
In the run-blocking department, Hockenson was graded by Pro Football Focus with a grade of 60.8, while Fant’s score of 45.4 was one of the worst in the NFL.
Not that Fant was ever labeled as a blocker, as it was one of the reasons why he wasn’t drafted higher.
Meanwhile, Hockenson ranked slightly above the league-average in terms of blocking. Nothing spectacular, but the nod is given to Hockenson in purely that regard.
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Now, this is where things get interesting: the receiving element of their respective games.
Fant led all rookie tight ends with 562 yards a season ago.
Playing in all 16 games, he also led in the targets (59) category.
On the other hand, Hockenson only appeared in 12 games.
With four fewer games played, Hockenson only saw three fewer targets and eight fewer receptions (32) on the season for a grand total of 367 yards.
The yardage total is quite the disparity, even though they had close to the same number of targets.
Fant had 14.1 yards per reception in juxtaposition to Hockenson’s 11.5-yard average.
In yards after the catch, Fant also led the way, with a mean of 8.3 yards and avoiding six would-be tacklers on the season.
Hockenson, meanwhile, only averaged 6.2 yards after the reception, and broke a total of four tackles.
It’s not difficult to see that Fant was a more productive receiver when the ball went his way.
It is important to note, though, that Fant had three drops while Hockenson was only credited with one. Drops are a subjective stat, and there were plenty of passes Hockenson could have brought in.
No matter the case, on the stat sheet, Hockenson has more reliable hands.
Lastly, we can’t neglect penalties.
A common complaint among Lions fans with Hockenson has been the number of times he was flagged.
Hockenson committed five penalties in 2019, but Fant also struggled in that department -- he committed nine.
Oddly enough, Fant saw 72.9 percent of his snaps as a traditional in-line tight end.
He does his best work as a big receiver, but played plenty inside.
Meanwhile, the Lions used Hockenson 60.7 percent of the time in-line.
In total, it's probably splitting hairs at this point when deciding between the two players at this point in their careers.
Given Fant's elite athletic profile, he might have a higher ceiling of catching passes.
However, if you want the more versatile tight end that can catch the ball and be a plus in the run game, you're taking Hockenson.
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