Thomas James Hockenson (born July 3, 1997) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He was drafted in the first round (eighth selection overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. He played college football at

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after ...

sophomore in 2018, he was awarded the

John Mackey Award The John Mackey Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding tight end. Established in 2000 by the Nassau County Sports Commission, the award is given annually to the tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, a ...

as the nation's top tight end in college football.

Early years

Hockenson grew up in

Cherokee, Iowa Cherokee is a city in Cherokee County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,199 at the 2020 Census, down from 5,369 in 2000. It is the county seat of Cherokee County. History Cherokee was laid out as a town in 1870, and was named for the ...

, moving back to Chariton, Iowa in his teenage years where he attended

Chariton High School Chariton High School is located in Chariton, Iowa, part of the Chariton Community School District. There are students from six towns including Chariton, Russell, Williamson, Lucas enrolled in the school. Athletics Athletic teams of Charit ...

and played football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. He was a four-year letter winner as a tight end and defensive back, and set school records for receiving yards in a game, season, and career. He led his team to the state playoffs as a senior and was named all-state first team that year. Hockenson was rated as a three-star recruit and the seventh-highest rated recruit in the state of Iowa in the class of 2016 by the 247Sports.com Composite, which aggregates the ratings of the major football recruiting services. He committed to the Iowa Hawkeyes on June 20, 2015.

College career

Hockenson

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his true freshman year in 2016. He was one of two tight ends in the starting lineup in Iowa's 2017 opener against

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

, along with

Noah Fant Noah Fant (born November 20, 1997) is an American football tight end for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa, and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2019 NFL ...

. He recorded his first career receptions the next week against Iowa State, finishing with two catches for 41 yards in the game. He had his best game of the year in Iowa's upset victory over then-No. 3

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

, where he led the team with five receptions for 71 yards and two touchdowns. Hockenson ultimately finished fifth on the team on the year with 24 receptions for 320 yards and three receiving touchdowns. Hockenson was listed on the preseason watch list for the

going into the 2018 season, as was teammate Noah Fant. In an early season loss to rival

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, Hockenson set a career high with 125 receiving yards, including a 46-yard connection from quarterback Nate Stanley. He again eclipsed the 100-yard mark in an October 13 game against

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, where he recorded four receptions for 107 yards and two touchdowns. He ultimately finished the season with 46 receptions for 717 yards and six receiving touchdowns, leading the Hawkeyes in the first two categories and finishing one receiving touchdown behind Fant for the team lead. He was named first-team All-Big Ten at tight end by the media voters, and second-team behind Fant by the coaches. He also won the Big Ten's tight end of the year award, the Kwalick–Clark Award. Hockenson was awarded the

, honoring him as the top tight end in college football in 2018. He is the second Hawkeye to receive the award, after

Dallas Clark Dallas Dean Clark (born June 12, 1979) is a former American football tight end who played 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Iowa, earned unanimous All-American honors, and was reco ...

in 2002, and the first sophomore. On January 14, 2019, Hockenson announced via

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that he would be leaving school early to declare for the 2019 NFL Draft.

Statistics

Professional career

Detroit Lions

2019

Hockenson was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the first round as the eighth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. On May 9, 2019, Hockenson signed a four-year deal with the Lions worth $19.8 million. Hockenson played his first regular season game on September 8, 2019 against the Arizona Cardinals. He finished the game with six receptions for 131 receiving yards and a touchdown as the game ended in a 27–27 tie. Hockenson's 131 yards were the most in a debut for a tight end in NFL history. In Week 4 against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

, Hockenson caught three passes for 27 yards and a touchdown before exiting the game with a concussion. Without Hockenson, the Lions lost 34–30. He was placed on injured reserve on December 2, 2019. He finished the season with 32 receptions for 367 yards and two touchdowns.

2020

Hockenson was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

list by the Lions on July 29, 2020, and was activated 10 days later. Hockenson made his return from injury in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears. During the game, Hockenson caught five passes for 56 yards and his first receiving touchdown of the season as the Lions lost 27–23. On October 25, in a Week 7 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, Hockenson caught the game-winning touchdown pass from

Matthew Stafford John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, where he was a first-team All-American, and was selected ...

as time expired, giving the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

their third victory of the season. On December 21, 2020, he was named to the

2021 Pro Bowl The 2021 Pro Bowl was to be the National Football League all-star game for the 2020 NFL season, originally scheduled to be played on January 31, 2021, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. On October 14, 2020, the NFL announced that it had ...

2021

Hockenson entered the 2021 season as the Lions starting tight end. He was placed on injured reserve on December 17, 2021 after undergoing thumb surgery. He finished the season with 61 catches for 583 yards and four touchdowns through 12 games.

2022

The Detroit Lions picked up the fifth-year option on Hockenson's contract on April 26, 2022. In the Week 4 game against the Seattle Seahawks, Hockenson set the all-time Lions record for receiving yards in a game by a tight end, gaining 179 yards on eight receptions in the 48-45 loss. This broke the record of 161 yards set by Jim Gibbons on December 13, 1964.

Minnesota Vikings

On November 1, 2022, the Lions traded Hockenson along with a 2023 fourth-round draft pick and a conditional 2024 fourth-round draft pick to the

in exchange for a 2023 second-round pick and a 2024 third-round draft pick.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Detroit Lions bioIowa Hawkeyes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hockenson, T. J. 1997 births Living people American football tight ends Detroit Lions players Iowa Hawkeyes football players People from Chariton, Iowa Players of American football from Iowa National Conference Pro Bowl players Minnesota Vikings players