T. J. Hockenson

Thomas James Hockenson (born July 3, 1997) is an American football tight end for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted in the first round (eighth selection overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. He played college football at Iowa. As a redshirt sophomore in 2018, he was awarded the John Mackey Award as the nation's top tight end in college football.

T. J. Hockenson
refer to caption
Hockenson in 2019
No. 87 – Minnesota Vikings
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1997-07-03) July 3, 1997
Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:248 lb (112 kg)
Career information
High school:Chariton (Chariton, Iowa)
College:Iowa (2016–2018)
NFL Draft:2019 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 5, 2023
Receptions:276
Receiving yards:2,841
Receiving touchdowns:20
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early years

Hockenson grew up in Cherokee, Iowa, moving back to Chariton, Iowa in his teenage years where he attended Chariton High School and played football and basketball. He was a four-year letter winner as a tight end and defensive back, and set school records for receiving yards in a game, season, and career. He led his team to the state playoffs as a senior and was named all-state first team that year.[1] Hockenson was rated as a three-star recruit and the seventh-highest rated recruit in the state of Iowa in the class of 2016 by the 247Sports.com Composite, which aggregates the ratings of the major football recruiting services.[2] He committed to the Iowa Hawkeyes on June 20, 2015.[3]

College career

Hockenson redshirted his true freshman year in 2016. He was one of two tight ends in the starting lineup in Iowa's 2017 opener against Wyoming, along with Noah Fant. He recorded his first career receptions the next week against Iowa State, finishing with two catches for 41 yards in the game.[1] He had his best game of the year in Iowa's upset victory over then-No. 3 Ohio State, where he led the team with five receptions for 71 yards and two touchdowns.[4] Hockenson ultimately finished fifth on the team on the year with 24 receptions for 320 yards and three receiving touchdowns.[5]

Hockenson was listed on the preseason watch list for the John Mackey Award going into the 2018 season, as was teammate Noah Fant.[6] In an early season loss to rival Wisconsin, Hockenson set a career high with 125 receiving yards, including a 46-yard connection from quarterback Nate Stanley.[7] He again eclipsed the 100-yard mark in an October 13 game against Indiana, where he recorded four receptions for 107 yards and two touchdowns.[8] He ultimately finished the season with 46 receptions for 717 yards and six receiving touchdowns, leading the Hawkeyes in the first two categories and finishing one receiving touchdown behind Fant for the team lead. He was named first-team All-Big Ten at tight end by the media voters, and second-team behind Fant by the coaches. He also won the Big Ten's tight end of the year award, the Kwalick–Clark Award.[9] Hockenson was awarded the John Mackey Award, honoring him as the top tight end in college football in 2018.[10] He is the second Hawkeye to receive the award, after Dallas Clark in 2002, and the first sophomore.

On January 14, 2019, Hockenson announced via Twitter that he would be leaving school early to declare for the 2019 NFL Draft.[11]

Statistics
Iowa Hawkeyes
Season Receiving Rushing
RecYdsAvgTDAttYdsAvgTD
2016 Redshirt Redshirt
2017 2432013.33000.00
2018 4671715.66144.01
Totals[12]701,03714.89144.01

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 4+3⁄4 in
(1.95 m)		 251 lb
(114 kg)		 32+1⁄4 in
(0.82 m)		 9+1⁄2 in
(0.24 m)		4.70 s1.64 s2.75 s4.18 s7.02 s37.5 in
(0.95 m)		10 ft 3 in
(3.12 m)		17 reps
All values from NFL Combine[13]

2019

Hockenson was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the first round as the eighth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.[14] On May 9, 2019, Hockenson signed a four-year deal with the Lions worth $19.8 million.[15]

Hockenson played his first regular season game on September 8, 2019 against the Arizona Cardinals. He finished the game with six receptions for 131 receiving yards and a touchdown as the game ended in a 27–27 tie. Hockenson's 131 yards were the most in a debut for a tight end in NFL history.[16] In Week 4 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Hockenson caught three passes for 27 yards and a touchdown before exiting the game with a concussion. Without Hockenson, the Lions lost 34–30.[17] He was placed on injured reserve on December 2, 2019.[18] He finished the season with 32 receptions for 367 yards and two touchdowns.[19]

2020

Hockenson was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Lions on July 29, 2020,[20] and was activated 10 days later.[21]

Hockenson made his return from injury in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears. During the game, Hockenson caught five passes for 56 yards and his first receiving touchdown of the season as the Lions lost 27–23.[22] On October 25, in a Week 7 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, Hockenson caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford as time expired, giving the Lions their third victory of the season.[23] On December 21, 2020, he was named to the 2021 Pro Bowl.[24]

2021

Hockenson entered the 2021 season as the Lions starting tight end. He was placed on injured reserve on December 17, 2021 after undergoing thumb surgery. He finished the season with 61 catches for 583 yards and four touchdowns through 12 games.

2022

The Detroit Lions picked up the fifth-year option on Hockenson's contract on April 26, 2022.[25] In the Week 4 game against the Seattle Seahawks, Hockenson set the all-time Lions record for receiving yards in a game by a tight end, gaining 179 yards on eight receptions in the 48–45 loss. This broke the record of 161 yards set by Jim Gibbons on December 13, 1964.[26]

Minnesota Vikings

On November 1, 2022, the Lions traded Hockenson along with a 2023 fourth-round draft pick and a conditional 2024 fourth-round draft pick to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for a 2023 second-round pick and a 2024 third-round draft pick.[27]

On August 31, 2023, Hockenson signed a four-year, $68.5 million contract extension with the Vikings.[28]

NFL career statistics
Year Team Games Receiving Rushing Fumbles
GPGSRecYdsAvgLngTDAttYdsAvgLngTDFumLost
2019DET 1273236711.5392000.00000
2020DET 16166772310.8516100.00011
2021DET 1212615839.6334000.00000
2022DET 772639515.2813000.00000
MIN 107605198.7213000.00011
Career57492462,58710.58118100.00022

References
  1. "Iowa Football Roster: T.J. Hockenson". HawkeyeSports.com. University of Iowa Athletics. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  2. "T.J. Hockenson recruiting profile". 247Sports.com. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  3. "T.J. Hockenson , 2016 Tight end". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  4. Allan, James (November 4, 2017). "Iowa Routs No. 3 Ohio State 55–24". HawkeyesSports.com. University of Iowa Athletics. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  5. "2017 Iowa Hawkeyes Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  6. "2018 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List Released" (PDF). JohnMackeyAward.com. July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  7. Batterson, Steve (September 22, 2018). "Hawkeyes fall to Wisconsin comeback". Dispatch-Argus. Rock Island, IL. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  8. "Stanley propels Iowa to 42–16 victory over Indiana". ESPN.com. Associated Press. October 13, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  9. "2018 All-Big Ten Football Teams and Individual Award Recipients" (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. November 28, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  10. Hendrickson, Dan (December 5, 2018). "T.J. Hockenson wins Mackey Award as nation's top tight end". WHOtv.com. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  11. Tabbert, Nick (January 14, 2019). "T.J. Hockenson declares for NFL draft". KCCI.com. Hearst Television. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  12. "T.J. Hockenson College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  13. "NFL Draft & Combine Profile – Thomas Hockenson". NFL.com. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  14. Twentyman, Tim (April 25, 2019). "Detroit Lions draft tight end T.J. Hockenson". detroitlions.com. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  15. Zucker, Joseph. "T.J. Hockenson Signs 4-Year Rookie Contract with Lions Worth Estimated $19.8M". Bleacher Report. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  16. Thomas, Chris (September 8, 2019). "Detroit Lions' T.J. Hockenson sets NFL record in debut". USA Today. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  17. "Chiefs score late, stay undefeated with 34–30 win over Lions". www.espn.com. Associated Press. September 29, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  18. Twentyman, Tim (December 2, 2019). "Lions place rookie tight end T.J. Hockenson on Reserve/Injured". DetroitLions.com. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  19. "T.J. Hockenson 2019 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  20. Rogers, Justin (July 29, 2020). "Kenny Golladay, T.J. Hockenson among Lions placed on COVID reserve list". DetroitNews.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  21. "T.J. Hockenson among 3 Lions removed from COVID-19 reserve list". DetroitNews.com. August 8, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  22. "Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions – September 13th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  23. "Detroit Lions at Atlanta Falcons – October 25th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  24. Birkett, Dave (December 21, 2020). "Detroit Lions have three 2020 Pro Bowlers: T.J. Hockenson, Frank Ragnow, Jack Fox". The Detroit News. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  25. "Fifth-year option tracker for first-round picks from the 2019 NFL Draft". NFL.com.
  26. Meinke, Kyle (October 3, 2022). "Lions TE T.J. Hockenson sets franchise receiving record that had stood since 1964". MLive.com. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  27. Peters, Craig (November 1, 2022). "Vikings Acquire TE T.J. Hockenson; Place Smith on IR". Vikings.com. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  28. Shook, Nick (August 31, 2023). "Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson agrees to terms on contract extension". NFL.com.
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