Lions notes: T.J. Hockenson grades 11th among first-round rookies per PFF

After his head-turning debut against the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions eighth overall pick T.J. Hockenson has slowed considerably. Since that 131-yard debut, Hockenson has just a total of 212 yards in the other eight game appearances this season. As of now, Hockenson ranks just 11th among all tight ends with 343 receiving yards.

Of course, as many warned this offseason, expecting immediate production from a rookie tight end was asking too much. Tight end is considered one of the toughest positions to move from college to the pros, and many of the best tight ends in NFL history had underwhelming rookie years.

That all being said, Hockenson isn’t doing too bad compared to other first-round picks in his draft class. PFF shared the grades of the first 32 picks in the 2019 NFL Draft, and Hockenson currently holds the 11th-best grade with 63.8.

“Through 10 weeks, Hockenson has averaged 7.4 yards after the catch per reception, a mark that ranks third among the 40 tight ends who’ve seen at least 20 targets so far this year,” PFF’s Mark Chichester wrote this week.

• The Detroit Lions Week 16 game against the Denver Broncos is now officially on Sunday, December 22 at 4:05 p.m. ET. When the schedule was originally announced, this game was one that could have been flexed to Saturday.

• On-field audio from Lions-Bears features Mike Daniels’ reaction to his first Lions sack which, I promise, you aren’t going to want to miss.

• Justin Rogers’ film review of the Lions Week 10 game looks at the Lions’ run game struggles, Jeff Driskel’s Lions debut, and how the Lions slowed Khalil Mack.

• It’s been a frustrating year for Lions fans, so let’s remember this amazing moment in franchise history that happened exactly 25 years ago:

• The Lions will have a ton of tough roster decisions to make in 2020, so MLive’s Benjamin Raven looked at the 23 players that have expiring contracts and how they’ve performed thus far in 2019.

• Pro Bowl voting open up this week. You can cast your vote right here. Here’s Darius Slay telling you to vote for him. You wouldn’t want to disappoint Darius Slay, would you?