Lions notes: T.J. Hockenson graded as 11th-best first-round rookie in preseason

The Detroit Lions chose to shore up their tight end unit in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft when they selected T.J. Hockenson out of Iowa. Hockenson is projected to slide into the starting role this year, meaning that the team has limited his involvement this preseason in order to keep him fresh for when the games actually matter.

Despite that, NFL analytics site PFF still liked what he has done so far, relative to other first round picks. They gave him a grade of 67.1 for his first three weeks of preseason. While that grade does not seem great on it’s own, it comes in at eleventh among all first round picks this preseason.

PFF says:

With the countdown to the regular season winding down, the Lions’ faithful have to be happy with what they’ve seen from Hockenson after the catch — he currently leads all tight ends in receiving yards after the catch (39) and yards after the catch per reception (9.8).

The rookie will most likely sit out of the team’s preseason finale, so the next time fans will get to see Hockenson in action will be in the season opener against the Arizona Cardinals.

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