It was an up and down rookie season for Detroit Lions 2019 1st round draft pick T.J. Hockenson, and while it started with a record-setting bang in week one, it ended with a gruesome ankle injury on Thanksgiving day.
Hockenson left Ford Field that day on crutches and was seen later on in the season relying on a scooter to get around, but over the last seven months, there have been no updates on his recovery until today when offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell virtually met with the media.
“As far as I know right now,” Bevell said, “he’s in his running part of the protocol. He’s on land, he’s running, he’s running routes, doing that thing. You can’t say he’s 100% yet, but I think he’s well on the way to getting there. He’s done a great job with his rehab, he’s always been a good worker that way. I know he’s going to get some time with Matthew (Stafford), throwing and catching. So yeah, I’m comfortable with where he’s at along the rehab part.”
Bevell would go on to say that Hockenson was “emerging as one of the leaders” on the team. Noting that he has the confidence to lead, a willingness to speak up, a desire “to be really good at his position”, and puts in the time to make it all possible.
While Hockenson is developing into a potentially strong offensive option for the Lions, Bevell acknowledged that there is still work to be done and he needs to find ways “to get him (Hockenson) opportunities to get the ball”.
There are a lot of mouths to feed in Detroit as the Lions are returning their top-4 wide receivers, are converting Jamal Agnew to offense, added D’Andre Swift to a backfield that already featured Kerryon Johnson and Bo Scarbrough, but the Lions didn’t use a Top-10 draft pick on Hockenson for his blocking — he’s going to get the ball.
