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Lions Select TE T.J. Hockenson #8 Overall


davisblack

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People are going to hate on this because of Ebron and Pettigrew, which is not how it should be. How many WR's did we take before the team hit on Calvin Johnson? 

Hock is better than both of those guys. He's not Ebron because he can actually block (and he's extremely good at it), and he's a much more dynamic threat than Pettigrew ever was. 

I imagine the plan was to draft an elite prospect at a position of need, which they did, and then take advantage of a deeper DL class later on. We will see. 

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Sure the dream was Josh Allen falls to us but that didn’t happen. Picking Hockenson to me was the right move. Still plenty of defensive help can be picked up in 2nd & 3rd round and we may move to get an extra pick in one of those rounds. Picking A.J. at 8 works for me for 3 reasons. He will bolster our run game, he is a middle of the field threat that will keep defenses honest and finally & most importantly.... he’s a Red Zone threat! I am tired of kicking field goals and leaving points off the board.

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I can’t say that I’m super excited over the pick but IMO it does make sense. The Lions have a great DL right now and were a top 10 defensive unit. The offense was wildly inconsistent and we received next to nothing from the TEs last year. 

If Hockenson can come in and be an excellent run blocker and break free on occasion, I will be happy. 

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I'm not thrilled with the move or should I say, it's not an exciting pick for me. He's now on our team and I'll learn to like the pick for what it is. However, I do think that the Lions should have taken one of the trade down options that were sitting there. If you look at Denver's draft, they wound up with the 2nd best TE at 20, an extra 2nd and an extra pick for next year. If I start to see items that a team like the Packers was eyeing him at #12, then maybe I'd feel better about it.

The problem that I have with this pick is that he pretty much HAS to be performing at a healthy Tyler Eifert level just to not look like a complete reach.

There is going to be a ton of pressure on the kid and I hope that he's able to handle it. I just want Quinn and Hockenson to prove people like myself wrong. If they do, then this will turn out to be a great pick and we'll have addressed a position that our team felt was important in taking the next step.

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1 hour ago, Lions017 said:

People are going to hate on this because of Ebron and Pettigrew, which is not how it should be. How many WR's did we take before the team hit on Calvin Johnson? 

Hock is better than both of those guys. He's not Ebron because he can actually block (and he's extremely good at it), and he's a much more dynamic threat than Pettigrew ever was. 

I imagine the plan was to draft an elite prospect at a position of need, which they did, and then take advantage of a deeper DL class later on. We will see. 

I'm not mad because of Grew and Ebron, I am mad because TE's aren't worth a top 10 pick, period.  I am looking at the impact of Vernon Davis, Mercedes Lewis, Tyler Eifert, Kyle Rudolph, Hayden Hurst, OJ Howard, Evan Engram, David Njoku, Jermaine Gresham, Heath Miller, Kellen Winslow.....    They just don't impact the game enough.  As I have said before, Gronk is the best there ever was.  He was a physical specimen.  And still, having a dominant D line is more important to winning a championship (or having Brady and Belichik. 

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I'm not a fan of the pick. I think he'll be a fine player, but I don't think Jesse James would have been fine, and we had the opportunity to get a couple of guys that would make a bigger impact, especially along the defensive front. I hope he helps a ton in the run game and brings a level of play-action that we haven't seen in ever.

There are a bunch of really nice O-linemen and CB (and WR) available still. I'd be stoked to get Jawaan Taylor, Greedy Williams, Byron Murphy, or Metcalf. I'd be plenty happy with Ford, Ya-Sin, Miles Sanders, etc.

My God I hope they know what they're doing.

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I re-watched the video from when he was drafted. David Shaw compared him to Zach Ertz. Daniel Jeremiah compared him to Heath Miller/Jason Witten. I'm going to temper my expectations and will just be happy with a Heath Miller type of impact even though you're drafting Jason Witten at #8.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/ErtzZa00.htm

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MillHe00.htm

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WittJa00.htm

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40 minutes ago, Karnage84 said:

I re-watched the video from when he was drafted. David Shaw compared him to Zach Ertz. Daniel Jeremiah compared him to Heath Miller/Jason Witten. I'm going to temper my expectations and will just be happy with a Heath Miller type of impact even though you're drafting Jason Witten at #8.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/ErtzZa00.htm

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MillHe00.htm

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WittJa00.htm

I wouldn't draft Witten, Ertz, or Miller in the first round knowing their NFL production. Especially not number 8. 

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5 minutes ago, Sllim Pickens said:

I wouldn't draft Witten, Ertz, or Miller in the first round knowing their NFL production. Especially not number 8. 

Agreed. But now he is on our team so we have to hope that he is at least that level of talent. The pick is a sunk cost. Now we have 3 years to see whether it's going to be an ok pick or one of the worst in the draft.

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7 minutes ago, Typical_Lions said:

I would be okay drafting a HOF tight end in the first round. And Ertz/Kelce are incredible players that have a major impact on the game.

I disagree on the HOF and I disagree on their impact on winning.  Not a single first round pick TE since Tony Gonzales has been worth drafting in the first round based on their impact.  Ertz and Kelce are good, and would be cool to have but I wouldn't have traded pick 8 for either of them and likely wouldn't spend a first on either of them.

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Just now, Typical_Lions said:

I would be okay drafting a HOF tight end in the first round. And Ertz/Kelce are incredible players that have a major impact on the game.

He isn't Kelce. He isn't as athletic. Ideally, his floor is a solid top 15-20 TE that's a solid blocker and contributes in the passing game. Ertz is what they have to be hoping he is in making this selection - an all around guy that is a solid blocker with a big body that makes the tough catch and can be a red-zone threat. 700 - 800 yards and 6-8 TD's a year. If he starts breaking the 900 - 1000 yards and/or has double digit TD's.... then we'll all forget about Ebron and how we took Hock at #8.

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1 minute ago, Sllim Pickens said:

I disagree on the HOF and I disagree on their impact on winning.  Not a single first round pick TE since Tony Gonzales has been worth drafting in the first round based on their impact.  Ertz and Kelce are good, and would be cool to have but I wouldn't have traded pick 8 for either of them and likely wouldn't spend a first on either of them.

You don't think that Witten is gonna be in the HOF? I think the only debate is if he would be a first ballot HOFer. Overall, we will disagree here and that is fine. I think Ertz and Kelce (and Gronk in his heyday) are elite and do a lot.

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