TJ Hockenson a Viking

[VikingsFan84]

TJ Hockenson is a STUD !!! Was one of the TE prospects ever to come out. Is a GREAT blocker. He also has the ability to stretch the middle. I hope we use him the way KC uses Kelce or even SF using another Hawkeye in George Kittle.
This move is exactly what we needed offensively, except OL. I do not think we are even interested in Cooks now.
Kirk Cousins has to be ecstatic right now. JJ, AT, and now TJ !!! Daaaang

No team is interested in Cooks since Texans want 2nd round pick which is too much for a 18 million price tag next year

[Texas Vike]

I'm ecstatic about this deal.
Hockenson is 25, a very solid TE who will immediately help Kirk and this offense and given the Lions' terrible record their picks are high (practically 3rd rounders) while ours are likely to be quite low.

I like the way Thor Nystrom put it:

Thor Nystrom
@thorku
·
3h
Rich Hill Trade Chart points*:

MN gets: Hockenson, 2023 R4 (38 points), 2024 R4 (32)

DET gets: 2023 R2 (91), 2024 R3 (50)

*2024 estimates

Vikes relinquish 71 points.

Upshot: Vikes acquired Hockenson for equivalent of No. 69 overall pick.

Steal for exactly what they needed.

[J. Kapp 11]

When we first traded for Hockenson I wondered why. When I found out Smith was basically done for the year that explained it.

Hock is twice the TE Irv was (maybe 3 times) and will be a favorite target of Cousins. I watched him a lot in college, he is a stud.

You are 1,000% correct on this. I live in Iowa and watched him play for the Hawks. Stud and beast would be apt descriptions of this guy. And yes, he is everything Irv was supposed to be and never was. He’s not a deep threat, per se, but he’s great on intermediate routes. Not a speed merchant (4.7, not bad, but not a burner) but he’s athletic as hell, with a 37-inch vertical at 6-5, 250.

Hockenson is a great blocker in addition to being an excellent receiving tight end. Let’s keep in mind, he was named a top 100 player in the NFL. He’s had 67- and a 61-catch seasons with an awful Detroit team. He’s currently No. 1 in the NFL in yards per reception among tight ends. As a matter of fact, at this moment, he has more receiving yards than Adam Thielen.

Now it’s up to KOC to utilize this guy and maximize what he can do. Fully confident that KOC can do it. Hockenson is an impact player. He’s also under team control for 2023 at $9 million.

Kudos to Kwesi for recognizing that this is potentially a special season and doing something to upgrade the team.

[FullWood]

Surprised Lions made a deal with us. Also seems like they given up on their season as i thought the lions could potentially make some noise. When I first heard the trade I didn't like it because we gave up a second and third round plus Lions already extended TJ for his fifth year but irv smith is out and we have questionable tight ends getting this deal made sense and was probably the best tight end in the market.

[VikingLord]

For what it's worth, this is the Walterfootball rating and summary of Hockenson prior to the 2019 NFL draft:

https://www.walterfootball.com/draft2019TE.php

What I like about this trade is that Hockenson is having his best year this year. Just what the doctor ordered with Smith out.

[StanM]

A few takeaways from this trade.

1). I wish I could have seen Aaron Rodgers reaction when he heard about it.

2). I predicted there wouldn’t be any trades due to the lack of cap space. The Vikings traded for a first round pick number 8 overall and he still is on his rookie deal. If he performs as predicted we can sign him to a deal and solve our tight end problems for the next five years.

3). We traded in our division again and some of us are still agonizing over the draft. Predictions were that we would regret “helping” our division rivals. How is that working out for our division rivals now? We just got a steal from the Lions.

[makila]

Bottom line is we were gonna have to address te via draft or free agency this off season. This could change that completely.

Got great value.

All for it. Good move.

[makila]

One of my biggest complaints with the last group of decision makers was they rarely saw a window and pushed their chips in. It was always straddling. Now I realize this year in itself is kinda designed that way, the competetive rebuild line. This is pushing some chips into the middle of the table however. Seeing a potential window opening and making the team better..for the now. So kudos Kwesi. Hope it works out.

[Cliff]

I've been hoping we could pick up someone that looks like Chester A Arthur for a while.

[J. Kapp 11]

A few takeaways from this trade.

1). I wish I could have seen Aaron Rodgers reaction when he heard about it.

2). I predicted there wouldn’t be any trades due to the lack of cap space. The Vikings traded for a first round pick number 8 overall and he still is on his rookie deal. If he performs as predicted we can sign him to a deal and solve our tight end problems for the next five years.

3). We traded in our division again and some of us are still agonizing over the draft. Predictions were that we would regret “helping” our division rivals. How is that working out for our division rivals now? We just got a steal from the Lions.

According to reports, Hockenson’s cap hit to the Vikings for the remainder of 2022 is about $600,000. Easily manageable.

The Lions picked up his 5th year option for 2023 at $9 million, so the Vikings will be on the hook for that next season. That shouldn’t be a problem. As a 25-year-old Pro Bowler having his best season, he would definitely be in line for an extension to help manage the cap.

And yes, we just got a great deal from the Lions. Meanwhile, Jameson Williams has yet to even suit up. Everybody was afraid of the Lions jumping up and becoming a factor. I guess all the Dan Campbell/Hard Knocks hype was just that … hype.

[J. Kapp 11]

Another thought.

In 2023, the Vikings give up their 2nd. Detroit gives up its 4th.

But … the Vikings are likely to be drafting near the end of round 2, while Detroit will likely be drafting at the beginning of round 4. If the Vikings get, say the 28th pick in the 2nd, that would be the 60th pick overall (not accounting for any compensatory picks). Let’s say the Lions have the 4th pick in the 4th round. That would be the 100th pick overall. That’s 40 draft positions, not two full rounds (64 picks).

In all likelihood, the Vikings did very well in this trade. Given their records and likely relative draft positions, it’s an even better value than at first glance.

[Texas Vike]

Another thought.

In 2023, the Vikings give up their 2nd. Detroit gives up its 4th.

But … the Vikings are likely to be drafting near the end of round 2, while Detroit will likely be drafting at the beginning of round 4. If the Vikings get, say the 28th pick in the 2nd, that would be the 60th pick overall (not accounting for any compensatory picks). Let’s say the Lions have the 4th pick in the 4th round. That would be the 100th pick overall. That’s 40 draft positions, not two full rounds (64 picks).

In all likelihood, the Vikings did very well in this trade. Given their records and likely relative draft positions, it’s an even better value than at first glance.

Yes. I mentioned this upthread in my post, but I didn't articulate it as explicitly as you have here. KAM pulled a really smart deal, IMO. When someone mentioned Dulcich in the Trade Deadline thread I was thinking, "yeah, right, as if DEN is going to let someone THAT young and talented go." And then we went and got Hock, who is a top 5 TE and is 25... Way BETTER than I could have imagined. I had no idea he was even available. I'm super excited. Really feel like this will help our O quite a lot.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Hock is twice the TE Irv was (maybe 3 times) and will be a favorite target of Cousins. I watched him a lot in college, he is a stud.

You are 1,000% correct on this. I live in Iowa and watched him play for the Hawks. Stud and beast would be apt descriptions of this guy. And yes, he is everything Irv was supposed to be and never was. He’s not a deep threat, per se, but he’s great on intermediate routes. Not a speed merchant (4.7, not bad, but not a burner) but he’s athletic as hell, with a 37-inch vertical at 6-5, 250.

Hockenson is a great blocker in addition to being an excellent receiving tight end. Let’s keep in mind, he was named a top 100 player in the NFL. He’s had 67- and a 61-catch seasons with an awful Detroit team. He’s currently No. 1 in the NFL in yards per reception among tight ends. As a matter of fact, at this moment, he has more receiving yards than Adam Thielen.

Now it’s up to KOC to utilize this guy and maximize what he can do. Fully confident that KOC can do it. Hockenson is an impact player. He’s also under team control for 2023 at $9 million.

Kudos to Kwesi for recognizing that this is potentially a special season and doing something to upgrade the team.

I had a feeling after seeing this trade some Iowa guys would be excited! I definitely am even though I’m not from Iowa lol. I just think this is a really smart move. We have a plug and play starting TE now that’s a real threat.

I saw this earlier and it’s a good point, when it comes to us trading before the deadline…. Would you rather see the Vikings get Hockenson who slides in as TE1 easily or get someone like Chase Claypool who battles for targets with Thielen and Osborn. To be honest, I don’t see us being that much better with a guy like Claypool, I do with Hockenson.

I guess you could say Thielen and Osborn are somewhat “underwhelming” this year given what we expected out of them in a Rams style offense but they are still both very reliable and are going to make plays when the ball is thrown their way. As for Irv, he just wasn’t making those plays. He was simply catching dink and dunk passes and the one big opportunity he gets against Philly, he drops one in the bread basket. And with him being out now anyways, it leaves us with Mundt who isn’t anything to write home about.

A top tier TE is a much smarter trade here than a middling to slightly above average WR. Because that means Hockenson, Thielen, Osborn and JJ are on the field at all times (for the most part) where as if we went with a WR trade instead, (unless we were going to run heavy 4 WR sets which I don’t see) those guys aren’t all on the field. The more playmakers you can put ON the field, the better. And we got one we can do that with in Hockenson

[Texas Vike]

Love this:

Matt Fries
@FriesFootball
Right now the Vikings are in line to pick 30th. The Lions are in line to pick first. Their second round pick is slated to be #61 overall. The Lions' 4th round pick is slated to be #102 overall.

The value difference between the two picks is equal to the last pick of the 6th round

[Mr. Walleye]

TJ Hockenson (HOCK) will be a tremendous addition. I watched him play in High School and at Iowa. He is a big-time talent who is fast, has great hands, and can block as well as anyone in the league except for the great George Kittle. Vikings fans we have acquired a gem and he will flourish in our offense. Sit back and enjoy as he will be an All-Pro on a yearly basis barring injury., mark my words.