
Tight end, Iowa, 2016–18
T.J. Hockenson
- Number
- No. 38
- Height
- 6′5″
- Weight
- 250 lb
- Class (2018)
- Sophomore
- Hometown
- Chariton, IA
- Born
- Jul 3, 1997, in Chariton, Iowa
Wikipedia readers: about 5,885 a month over the past year
T.J. Hockenson played tight end at Iowa (2016–18). He won the 2018 John Mackey Award. The Detroit Lions took Hockenson in the first round, No. 8 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft.
At a glance
Career highs
7catches, career highvs. Northwestern, 2018115receiving yards, career highvs. Wisconsin, 20182receiving touchdowns, career highthree times; last at Illinois, 2018Honors
- 2018John Mackey Award
- 2018Ozzie Newsome Award
- 2018Big Ten Tight End of the Year
- 2018First-team All-Big Ten
All-America: AFCA 2018; USA Today 2018
Players of the year, conference and regional honors: Wikipedia’s lists (CC BY-SA), each linked from its honor.
Receiving
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.
On the roster
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Per play
| Season | Team | Plays | EPA/play | Pctile | Median | Total | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Iowa | 30 | 1.34 | 99th (n=507) | 0.52 | 40.3 | 5% |
| 2018 | Iowa | 65 | 1.03 | 97th (n=497) | 0.53 | 66.8 | 7% |
Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.
Game by game
2018 Iowa 13 games, 49 catches, 750 yards, 6 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Rec | Yds | TD | Long | Rush |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | vs. | W 33–7 | 4 | 64 | 0 | 24 | – |
| Sep 8 | vs. | W 13–3 | 6 | 33 | 0 | 9 | – |
| Sep 15 | vs. | W 38–14 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 8 | – |
| Sep 22 | vs. | L 17–28 | 3 | 115 | 0 | 46 | – |
| Oct 6 | at | W 48–31 | 3 | 49 | 1 | 30 | 4 |
| Oct 13 | at | W 42–16 | 4 | 107 | 2 | 54 | – |
| Oct 20 | vs. | W 23–0 | 3 | 30 | 0 | 16 | – |
| Oct 27 | at | L 24–30 | 3 | 63 | 0 | 32 | – |
| Nov 3 | at | L 36–38 | 4 | 39 | 1 | 13 | – |
| Nov 10 | vs. | L 10–14 | 7 | 89 | 0 | 37 | – |
| Nov 17 | at | W 63–0 | 2 | 48 | 2 | 37 | – |
| Nov 23 | vs. | W 31–28 | 5 | 54 | 0 | 25 | – |
| Jan 1 ✦ | vs. | W 27–22 | 3 | 43 | 0 | 22 | – |
2017 Iowa 10 games, 24 catches, 320 yards, 3 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Rec | Yds | TD | Long | Rush |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 9 | at | W 44–41 | 2 | 41 | 0 | 24 | – |
| Sep 16 | vs. | W 31–14 | 3 | 29 | 1 | 12 | – |
| Sep 30 | at | L 10–17 | 3 | 46 | 0 | 22 | – |
| Oct 7 | vs. | W 45–16 | 2 | 41 | 0 | 24 | – |
| Oct 21 | at | L 10–17 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 9 | – |
| Oct 28 | vs. | W 17–10 | 2 | 26 | 0 | 22 | – |
| Nov 4 | vs. | W 55–24 | 5 | 71 | 2 | 24 | – |
| Nov 11 | at | L 14–38 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 | – |
| Nov 18 | vs. | L 15–24 | 3 | 33 | 0 | 16 | – |
| Dec 27 ✦ | vs. | W 27–20 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 | – |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
| Drill | Combine 2019 |
|---|---|
| Height | 6′4¾″ |
| Weight | 251 lb |
| Arm length | 32¼″ |
| Hand size | 9½″ |
| Wingspan | 77⅞″W |
| 40-yard dash | 4.70 s |
| 10-yard split | 1.64 sW |
| Vertical jump | 37½″ |
| Broad jump | 10′3″ |
| Bench press | 17 reps |
| 3-cone drill | 7.02 s |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.18 s |
Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
8 seasons, 102 games with a stat; latest team: Minnesota Vikings.
Pro Bowls: 2 (2020, 2022)
| Season | Team | G | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Detroit Lions | 12 | 32 | 367 | 2 |
| 2020 | Detroit Lions | 16 | 67 | 723 | 6 |
| 2021 | Detroit Lions | 12 | 61 | 583 | 4 |
| 2022 | Minnesota Vikings | 17 | 86 | 914 | 6 |
| 2023 | Minnesota Vikings | 15 | 95 | 960 | 5 |
| 2024 | Minnesota Vikings | 10 | 41 | 455 | 0 |
| 2025 | Minnesota Vikings | 15 | 51 | 438 | 3 |
| 2026 (so far) | Minnesota Vikings | 5 | 23 | 202 | 1 |
| NFL career | 102 | 456 | 4,642 | 27 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat. Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams by NFL season: rosters and honors, Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
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