Detroit had an anemic passing attack production from the tight ends last season. Until Levine Toilolo got hot (15 catches in the final five games) at the end of the year, the Lions ranked dead last in catches, targets, yards and first downs produced by tight ends. They still finished last or next to last in all those categories.
Toilolo and Luke Willson both left as free agents, and the Lions did not make any effort to keep either veteran.
Lions GM Bob Quinn signed ex-Steelers backup Jesse James to fill part of the giant void at tight end. Later in free agency, former Bills TE Logan Thomas signed on as well. They joined holdovers Michael Roberts and Jerome Cunningham. But Quinn was just getting started…
T.J. Hockenson vaulted to the top of the pecking order when the Lions tabbed him with the No. 8 overall pick. His all-around ability offers Pro Bowl-caliber promise right away. He sets James up as a No. 2, the same role he thrived in for Pittsburgh.
Quinn still wasn’t done, however. In the seventh round, he added Georgia’s Isaac Nauta. Right after the draft, the Lions signed UDFA Donald Parham, a 6-8 pass catcher out of Stetson who impressed during Senior Bowl week. He was widely projected to be a late-round pick in his own right. A couple more received invitations to the team’s rookie camp as well.
All the new additions appear to be bad news for Roberts and Cunningham. It puts Thomas on the spot, too.
Don’t be surprised if Roberts, the team’s fourth-round pick in 2017, winds up joining Toilolo and Willson as ex-Lions. Roberts has struggled to stay healthy and has produced just 13 catches in two years. If Nauta and/or Parham show enough in rookie camp and minicamp, Thomas’ stay in Detroit could be short, too.
