Vikings Acquire Pro Bowl TE T.J. Hockenson in Massive Trade With Lions
You just knew the trade deadline wasn't going to pass without Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah swinging a big move to upgrade his 6-1 roster. On Tuesday, less than four hours before the deadline, it happened.
The Vikings have traded for Lions Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson, according to multiple reports. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero was first on the details: the Vikings are sending a 2023 second-round pick and a 2024 third-round pick to Detroit for a 2023 fourth and a conditional 2024 fourth. So the Vikings downgrade a round or two in the next two drafts but keep the same number of picks, assuming the conditional pick transfers.
In doing so, they add one of the more dangerous tight ends in the NFL to an offense already loaded with weapons.
Hockenson, the No. 8 overall pick out of Iowa in the 2019 draft, has all the tools required to be one of the top receiving threats in the league at his position. He's 6'5", 250 pounds, and has elite athleticism. In parts of four seasons with the Lions (47 games), he has 186 catches for over 2,000 yards and 15 touchdowns.
The best year of Hockenson's career was 2020, where he put up a 67/723/6 line and made the Pro Bowl. He had a strong 61/583/4 line last year in just 12 games and got off to a massive start to this season. Back in Week 4, Hockenson caught eight passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns against the Seahawks.
Now he joins an offense led by a sharp young offensive coach in Kevin O'Connell. He'll be catching passes from Kirk Cousins and should have plenty of room to operate, given that teams also need to worry about the Vikings' receivers and running backs.
Hockenson is also solid as a blocker, although his pass-catching ability is the highlight of his game.
In Sunday's win over the Cardinals, the Vikings lost tight end Irv Smith Jr. to a high-ankle sprain that is expected to sideline him for multiple weeks. Hockenson steps in to replace him in both the short and long term. Smith had struggled with drops at times this season and is a free agent in the spring. Hockenson is a more proven, reliable receiving threat who is under contract through 2023 because of the fifth-year option the Lions picked up this offseason.
Once Smith returns, the Vikings will be able to use both players. They also have Johnny Mundt, an excellent blocker who just caught his first career touchdown pass on Sunday.
Update: Adam Schefter reports that Smith is expected to miss 8-10 weeks, which helps explain this move even further.
Hockenson comes with a cap hit of less than $600,000 for the rest of this season, while the Lions eat nearly $6 million in dead cap. His cap hit goes up to $9.4 million in 2023.
More to come on this big move by the Vikings.
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