ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions current depth chart at tight end reads Michael Roberts and [404 ERROR FILE NOT FOUND].

Levine Toiolo and Luke Willson led one of the least effective tight end rotations in the league last year. Now both are both expected to hit free agency in two weeks, leaving the Lions with just the disappointing Roberts and the unproven Jerome Cunningham at the position.

The Lions are expected to be heavily involved in the tight end market, both in free agency and the draft, and are getting a jump on it early by hosting New England’s Dwayne Allen on a free-agent visit this week according to ESPN.

Allen, 29, is mostly a blocking tight end these days. He started eight games and appeared in 13 overall for New England last season. He ranked 27th in run blocking and 50th in pass blocking at the position, according to ProFootballFocus.

Those numbers aren’t exactly impressive, but it seems there is a market building for Allen. New England released him to save $7.3 million in cap space, but reportedly still wants to bring him back at a lower rate. Allen also has at least four free-agent visits already lined up, according to ProFootballTalk, including to Detroit and Buffalo.

This is the second time in as many years the Lions have expressed interest in acquiring a Patriots tight end. They also reportedly had a deal in place to trade for Rob Gronkowski last offseason, but Gronkowski threatened to retire rather than leave New England.

“We went into last offseason, and I think I spoke about this in January, we made many efforts at signing everybody that was available on the street,” Lions general manager Bob Quinn said recently. "Ultimately it came down to dollars and cents, and we didn’t get any of those top guys and we got the guys who we got, and some of those guys performed well for us.”

Toiolo was as-advertised as a blocker, including ranking first overall in pass blocking according to ProFootballFocus. But his 21 catches also led the position. Willson, signed to handle the pass-catching duties, finished with just 13 catches for 87 yards. Roberts, a fourth-round pick two years ago, had just nine catches for 100 yards.

Meantime, Eric Ebron, cut by Detroit, caught 13 touchdown passes in a Pro Bowl season for Indianapolis.

Now the Lions will try to retool the position once again, and everything is in play, including the possibility of spending the eighth overall pick on a tight end in next month’s draft. Iowa’s T.J. Hockenson has a chance to be the first tight end taken in the top 10 since Eric Ebron in 2014.

“I think we take every pick seriously,” Quinn said Wednesday after arriving at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. “If it’s a player that’s worthy of the eighth overall pick, and he happens to be a tight end, then I’m not against that.”