Tight end is always a tricky position for fantasy football. It was especially difficult last year, with a shortage of quality options. With Rob Gronkowski retiring this offseason, the pool of top options got even slimmer. Guys like Travis Kelce and George Kittle will be off the board early, and if you don't get any of the top few, you might be best off waiting to pick up a sleeper.

One potential interesting sleeper is Detroit Lions rookie T.J. Hockenson. Hockenson was a beast at Iowa and was universally regarded as the top tight end in last month's draft. Tight ends don't typically make huge impacts as rookies, but they don't typically get drafted in the top eight like Hockenson did either.

It's also not completely unheard of for a tight end to turn into a good fantasy player as a rookie. In 2016 Hunter Henry caught eight touchdowns and came on really strong down the stretch as a rookie, and he was a second round pick. Hockenson has the much higher draft pedigree, and he doesn't have too much standing in his way.

The Lions did sign Jesse James this offseason, but James was never a dynamic receiver during his time with the Steelers, and Hockenson won't have too hard of a time passing him. Henry was dealing with Antonio Gates blocking his way, which was a much stiffer challenge.

James never topped 423 yards during his four years in Pittsburgh, so I'm not too worried about him. By signing James and drafting Hockenson so early, the Lions clearly signaled that tight end is a position of emphasis for them in 2019. They let Eric Ebron walk in free agency last year, which blew up in their faces when Ebron had a career year with the Colts.

Detroit ended up getting virtually nothing out of their tight ends last season, and they clearly want to change that. Their leading tight end last year was Levine Toilolo, who finished with just 263 yards and one touchdown. Hockenson finished with 760 yards last year, all while splitting time with fellow first-round pick Noah Fant.

He averaged 15.5 yards per reception, which is rare for a tight end. Hockenson blew up the combine, and he's extremely athletic. The team drafted him as high as they did for a reason, and they clearly envision him playing a significant role with Matthew Stafford for years to come. The Lions drafted Ebron early in the first round, and they aren't going to let what happened with him happen again. They won't rush Hockenson, but they aren't going to hold him back either, and he should receive plenty of targets early on.

The Lions traded Golden Tate at the deadline last year, freeing up even more targets in their offense. The opportunity is there for a tight end, and Hockenson should be able to seize the moment. There are so few quality fantasy tight end options that it makes sense to gamble for some upside. Hockenson certainly has upside, and he seems like a pretty good pick toward the later rounds of drafts.