The Detroit Lions made it clear coming into the offseason they needed to upgrade the tight end position, and they wasted no time taking T.J. Hockenson from the Iowa Hawkeyes with the eighth pick of the 2019 NFL Draft. This is just the fourth time in the last 40 years a tight end has gone in the top eight, which might add some pressure for some, but Hockenson has high expectations for himself, and is welcoming the pressure that comes with his draft position.
“Honestly, I mean, I don’t think there’s any expectations that I don’t have myself,” Hockenson said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “I’m going to go in and I’m going to do the same thing I did throughout my entire life is work hard and figure out what I need to do to help that team. Whether that’s inline blocking, whether that’s catching the ball, whether that’s sitting on the bench, no one knows. There’s support, but I’m going to work my tail off. I’m going to do everything I can to help this team.”
It's a good thing that Hockenson doesn't feel the pressure because the last tight end the Lions took in the first round didn't work out very well.
Eric Ebron was selected with the 10th pick in the 2014 draft, and famously never panned out with the Lions, beset by a lingering case of the drops and lack of effectiveness as a blocker If Hockenson does struggle early in his career there are no doubt going to be some questions if he is the next Ebron.
If Hockenson can just focus on himself, and do what he can to help the team, he should be fine, and perhaps finally be the highly-drafted tight end who lives up to the hype in Detroit.
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