The Detroit Lions have wrapped up the 2019 season. Over the next two weeks, MLive will hand out reviews for each of the team’s position groups. Today: Tight ends. Next: Offensive line.

Tight ends

Starter: T.J. Hockenson

Backups: Jesse James, Logan Thomas, Isaac Nauta

Key stats: Jesse James signed a four-year, $22.6 million deal last year, played in every game but only hauled in 16 passes for 142 yards. Logan Thomas, who was cut to make room for the waiver claim that landed J.D. McKissic before rejoining the team, outproduced James with 16 catches for 173 yards and one touchdown. The Lions, of course, drafted tight end T.J. Hockenson with the eighth-overall pick the month after signing James, but that level of production is quite the letdown for someone expected to play a significant role.

As for Hockenson, he turned in the best debut by a tight end in league history out in Arizona with six catches for 131 yards and one touchdown. But, he fell back to earth and never came close to sniffing his Week 1 production. He caught 32 passes on 59 targets for 367 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games before landing on injured reserve with an ankle injury. While Hockenson didn’t perform to the level expected of the eighth-overall pick, he showed split-second flashes of the talent that landed him in Detroit.

Ben’s grade: D-

Breakdown: With as much as the Lions have invested in James and Hockenson, a combined 48 catches for 509 yards and two touchdowns is nearly unacceptable. James wasn’t a focal point in the offense at any point, while Hockenson’s usage was up and down.

Hockenson didn’t gain more than 56 yards in a single outing after his Week 1 showing. The rookie struggled with some drops early on, and never felt like more than an afterthought or safety valve the rest of the way.

It’s easy to look at the production from rookie linebackers Josh Allen and Devin Bush and wonder what could’ve been, but Hockenson could still prove to be worth the high pick. He turned in an impressive training camp, and stop me if you’ve heard this before, but tight ends notoriously struggle in their first season. His 32 catches and 367 yards came close to matching the average rookie production of a first-round tight end in the past 20 years. For the highest picked player at his position in more than a decade, though, Hockenson faces higher expectations than just meeting the average line.

Not much is known about the ankle injury he suffered on Thanksgiving. Hockenson was seen wheeling around the locker room at the team’s facility on the day after the season finale but declined to speak with reporters.

Here's all six of T.J. Hockenson's catches from yesterday, it's safe to say Detroit got a good one; 131 yards and a touchdown in his debut.



I'm so glad I was wrong about this pick.



(Via @Lions) pic.twitter.com/SNKqY6YYwE — Zach Harig (@FOX17Zach) September 9, 2019

On the bright side, Thomas took some necessary steps forward as someone who converted from quarterback to tight end a couple of years ago. Not only did he outproduce James, but he received a red-zone target in the waning seconds on fourth down against Oakland and graded better as a blocker per Pro Football Focus.

Undrafted rookie Isaac Nauta was the team’s highest-graded blocker at the position but logged limited snaps between fullback and tight end. PFF graded Thomas at 61.7 in pass protection and 50.2 on the ground. Nothing to write home about by any means, but better than James’ marks in both pass protection and run blocking by a solid amount.

Hockenson, on the other hand, was brutal in pass protection at 37.3 but led the group in run-blocking per the analytics site. For an idea of how much each was asked to block, James led the way with 85 pass-blocking snaps compared to Hockenson’s 35 and Thomas’ 33. The veteran also got the most work on the ground with 223 run-blocking snaps to Thomas’ 130 and Hockenson’s 181.

Thomas will be an unrestricted free agent, so the tight end room could consist of Hockenson, James and Nauta next season. With the growth the former Virginia Tech quarterback has shown since making the switch, it might not be a bad idea to make some room for Thomas in 2020. He’s got the size at 6-foot-6 and seems to improve with each passing year.

Logan Thomas touchdown reception #OnePride pic.twitter.com/0Gv7t3wkX6 — Off The Field Podcast (@OTF___Podcast) November 24, 2019

While it’s hard to feel optimistic regarding James, expectations for the tight end room next season should remain high based on the level of investment. James’ cap hit jumps from $2.2 million to $5.7 million in 2020, so another near career-worst season is going to be unacceptable at that going rate.

“You know, Jesse James needs to get more involved in the offense,” Lions general manager Bob Quinn said of James after the season. "I think when you sign a tight end in the offseason and then you draft one in the first round, it’s kind of hard. It was kind of a hard thing for Jesse. But I know Jesse is excited about going forward with a really deep tight end room and that’s going to be a big part of our offense going forward.”

According to Spotrac, James is the 10th highest-paid player at the position while Hockenson’s first-round rookie deal lands him at No. 12. The pressure is on to make James and Hockenson a more significant part of the offense, or questions will only continue to grow regarding how the franchise is spending its draft capital and money. The Lions also remain in the market for a new tight ends coach after the organization parted ways with Chris White after the season.

With so many glaring needs on the roster, the top of the tight end room should be on a short leash and directly under the microscope in 2020 based on how much was put into it last year.

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