TJ Hockenson - 2019 NFL Draft Scouting Report

I have already tackled one underclassmen tight end from the University of Iowa in Noah Fant, so now it only feels right to tackle his teammate in Redshirt Sophomore and John Mackey Award Winner, TJ Hockenson. I took a look at his games against Wisconsin, Penn State, and Indiana from this past season.

Although both Fant and Hockenson are tight ends from the University of Iowa, their games are quite different. Where Fant is a freak who can stretch the field but may not be as refined with his technique, Hockenson is not a freak but knows how to find space in defenses and probably had the best hands on the Hawkeyes team.

Since Hockenson isn't a freak athlete, he has to use his guile to get open.

Here, he gives a very slight push with his left arm to create some separation at the top of his route, and uses that to cut away from the defender to give himself about two yards worth of space. He not only makes the catch but gains another seven yards after the catch.

But even though Hockenson isn't a freak of an athlete, the guy is definitely still an athlete.

No need to measure his vertical at the combine. It is officially one Penn State defender.

He's not just hops as he's got some speed as well.

Hockenson is able to turn a simple out route into a touchdown by not only staying on his feet on a missed tackle but barely losing speed despite getting his legs clipped. He then races down the sideline for the score.

Hockenson was also a guy who always showed great awareness during plays.

On this play, Hockenson starts in the slot on the far side of the field and his route has him break towards the near sideline, but he sees Stanley being forced to roll to the far sideline and readjusts his route to give his quarterback a different option, and ends up making a really nice catch while dealing with pass interference. Also, this throw will end up on Stanley's highlight reel next year, because he threw the ball 58 yards in the air while rolling to his weak side. Just getting this ball close to Hockenson shows some incredible arm strength.

One of my favorite things about Hockenson is how he catches the football.

He frames the ball with his hands as opposed to letting it get into his body, and keeps his thumbs together to give a tight area for the ball to come in and secure it before bringing it into his body and absorbing the hit. There is no wasted movement on his technique which is what makes him such a reliable pass catcher.

Seriously, look at these hands.

IT WAS A CATCH, DAMNIT.

Just in case you want an example of a ball that was not overturned as a catch. Here's a definite catch where he gets two feet in for good measure.

This is great extension by Hockenson where he does a great job of snatching the ball out of the air and quickly pulls it in to secure the catch.

But now it is the real reason that you came here. Let's get to the blocking highlights.

To start off, Hockenson kicks out the defensive end to create a big opening for the running back. But instead of just doing enough, Hockenson plays through the e in whistle, showing that he is a true Football Playing Jesse.

This next one is not as sexy, but it is as effective.

He starts head up and gets his hands under the defensive end's shoulder pads to turn him away from the runner while keeping his feet moving to help give a big lane to the running back. There are offensive linemen that fail this block, and Hockenson is picture perfect.

And now, the main event, although fair warning: The following clip is not suitable for children.

That is blocking porn right there. Don't be ashamed if you need to take a break to clean up after watching it.

As you can probably tell, I am a huge fan of TJ Hockenson. He blocks well, knows how to get open, and has reliable hands to make plays. He's a good, but not great athlete and that does limit his ceiling. I don't see a scenario where he is competing with Kelce, Kittle, and Ertz when it comes to receiving numbers. The most common comparison I have seen is Kittle, and there are aspects that are similar, but Kittle is a better athlete, where Hockenson is a better blocker and has shown more durability (although that last part is not yet conclusive). The best comparison that I saw was from Daniel Jeremiah who compared him to Heath Miller. He's going to be the total package at tight end, and although he won't be taking the top off defenses, he's going to be a first down machine and considering how high his floor is, he's got a very good chance to sneak into the first round, even in a loaded tight end class.

Previous Scouting Reports:
Noah Fant - Iowa Hawkeyes - Tight End