ALLEN PARK – Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but TJ Hockenson has had one very good week at training camp.
Hockenson shone for the Detroit Lions, who closed the pads for the first time this week on Saturday. The close end of the second year drew worries about his ankle earlier in the week, but has produced at a rate that makes it easier to believe him when he says he’s 100%. Last year, the eighth overall pick took two touchdown passes during drills for red areas, with one from Matthew Stafford and the other from Chase Daniel.
At first, Hockenson made a tightly contested catch with cornerback Amani Oruwariye in cover. The two collisions at the point of capture, send Hockenson’s canvas into the air as it shoots out of a cannon from the t-shirt. He then turned to the sideline and drove home a Gronk Spike in celebration. Lucky for you, the Lions roll for this play:
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His second score came on a role of Daniel, who set aside some more time for fun in the final zone.
Hockenson did not just shine during this drill because his one-on-one reps against safetys Tracy Walker and Jayron Kearse were very entertaining. The tight end got the best of both on Saturday, absolutely burning Walker with a false inside before quickly flattening his route. Walker had nothing but praise for Hockenson’s movement: “I saw that (explosive) coming too!”
Hockenson’s release and the ability to sail a defender stand through the first few days. He looks more physical, and the connection with Stafford jumps off the page.
“He loves the game of football. He’s a simple boy, just wants to go out and play ball and block and catch, and you know, be a tight end,” Hockenson’s Lions coach Matt Patricia said earlier this week. “Those guys are a little different anyway. I think you can hopefully feel that from him, his excitement from that today. I think TJ, last year and kind of where he was in the concept and that’s all , there is a lot of pressure.
“It’s a lot of pressure for a first-year man, and sure – you know, coming out of the gates with a great game and then just a little bit, up and down, the injuries and everything else. I think for him he just feels him like, ‘OK, you know what, I’m down. It’s the second year. Show me if I can just try to get better. Show me if I can improve and let’s just have some fun. That, it’s good to see that. You can really tell it on his face. Sure, you know, his hair looks good. That, he’s ready to roll. “
Here are some more observations from the fifth day of practice:
– Jeff Okudah took part in individual warm-ups, but the rookie corner saw the rest of the sideline practice. Okdauh arrived angry and was slow to get up after making an assumption at the end of Friday’s practice. He then completed the practice and understood it as nothing more than a ‘football game’. The cornerback never left the sideline this morning, but after working his way through some individuals, his day went by.
Keep an eye on his status going forward, as the Lions have taken most of their rookies slowly.
“Sure, everyone tries to be as safe and healthy and controlled as possible,” Patricia said. “But from a general competitive standpoint, that new week will be a focal point for us.”
– Practice would look absolutely awful if everyone moved like Danny Amendola. He has no off-switch, and his chemistry with Stafford stays through the roof. The ball does not seem to hit the ground when Stafford throws his way into practice. There was not really a striking moment other than the fact that these two make it really easy.
– Let’s roll through the rest of the specs of the two-minute drill, with the misalignment each time out on top. Stafford finished an eight-yard 58-yard run with less than 10 seconds left when he saw Marvin Jones in the back of the end zone.
The second group ended things in three plays. Chase Daniel beat Jamal Agnew for a brief win. Daniel put the ball where it had to be on a deep shot to make rookie Quintez Cephus on the next game. The receiver showed excellent body control, came to a halt and cut the yard over his shoulder. Cephus later showed some more awareness, by getting into a pace that played out the originally intended goal.
Daniel hit Agnew again across the middle of the field for the 20-yard touchdown. It went easy for the second team official who felt the drive of the first team felt like a Peter Jackson movie.
David Blough led the offensive line of the third team, who were challenged to score field goals. The highlight of this session was Blough completing Tom Kennedy to set the game-winning field goal that was never actually kicked. One shouted, “Lions Win!” And that was that.
– Speaking of Agnew. The converted receiver missed a few balls he should have, but had recovered with two catches and the touchdown in the two-minute drill. He also had a clean day felt punts, which will never hurt his case.
He had kicked one pass from his hands and another came out flying after hitting the field. Not one of the plays was automatically catchy, but each struck Agnew’s hands. Do not read this too much, because he appeared to belong to five recipients.
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– There was nowhere to go, but up after he went 0-4 field games on Friday. But rookie running back Jason Huntley looked more comfortable today. He successfully felt every attempt as he walked back and forth between the kicking and receiving team. Victor Bolden, Agnew, Amendola, Marvin Hall and Huntley caught points on Saturday.
– The defense missed three, maybe four interceptions near the end of practice. Darryl Roberts, Jahlani Tavai and Dee Virgin each dropped some picks. Tavai’s missed opportunity was the strangest, with the linebacker’s confused body language telling the story. I thought he was running the other way with the ball, but then Marvin Jones sprinted to the end zone. Tavai’s hands were on his head in disbelief that the ball was not sitting in his big myths.
– While missing those three, linebacker Christian Jones did not. Jones was covering fellow linebacker turning full-back Jason Cabinda when he made a leap with one-handed interception. The impressive catch received one of the loudest reactions of the day.
– Jonah Jackson continues to guard the rehearsals of the first team on the right, in addition to the usual suspects Taylor Decker, Frank Ragnow, Joe Dahl and Halapoulivaati Vaitai. Logan Stenberg gets reps with the second team at center, with Beau Benzschawel still limited. I just got one high snap from the rookie today, which is an improvement from where things were a few days ago.
– Running backs D’Andre Swift and Bo Scarbrough missed practice on Saturday. Scarbrough has missed four straight sessions, while Swift has now lost back-to-back sessions. Patricia said he did not feel they were ready for the pace of Saturday’s practice. Swift appeared late Thursday with an injury to his upper leg.
Desmond Trufant was also restricted again, as the veterans corner did not do much when it came to team drills. He spent most of Saturday on the sidelines with his helmet on.
Recipient Marvin Hall was back in action, and former Michigan State tight end Matt Sokol still wore a red no-contact jersey. Undrafted rookie tight end Hunter Bryant was also spotted with an injury to a lower body. He appeared at times as a receiver, but an injury this early in camp would be difficult to overcome with some of his blocking limitations.
‘I think there’s a lot he’s doing well in passing games, and we’ve been able to see a bit of that. “I think he did a great job in the first place by just taking his chance with maybe some of the other things that are happening,” Patricia of Hunter Bryant said before Saturday’s practice. ‘He got out there with some of those groups and did a really great job. Sure with tight ends, and the tight end roll in the NFL right now, you need to make sure those guys are multiple, because if you make them one-dimensional then on the flip side of that defense, you can just see them as a certain type of player and the matchups become different. I think we like some of the pass-game stuff we see with him and certain matchups, but maybe not in other matchups. That it can be more to have a balanced skill set is important. We need to spend time on that. That he obviously works on the things he does well, and keeps building on them, but really looks at the things he needs to improve to make sure that is up to standard as well. ‘
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