Immediate grade of the T.J. Hockenson trade for the Detroit Lions

In the aftermath of the first major move on NFL trade deadline day, here’s a grade for the Detroit Lions from their deal sending T.J. Hockenson to the Minnesota Vikings.

The Detroit Lions were part of the first deal on NFL trade deadline day Tuesday, as they sent tight end T.J. Hockenson to the Minnesota Vikings. They also sent a 2023 fourth-round pick and a 2024 conditional fourth-round pick to Minnesota, for a 2023 second-round pick and 2024 third-round pick.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the conditional pick to Minnesota becomes a 2024 fifth-rounder if the Vikings win a playoff game–presumably this year or next, but it’s not specified. Hockenson will be a Viking in 2023, barring something unforeseen.

The Lions didn’t seem inclined to sign Hockenson to a contract extension. The deals David Njoku and Dawson Knox got in recent months drove his market value up, as he could have been asking for more than those two lesser players got per year in a new deal.

Grading the T.J. Hockenson trade for the Detroit Lions

With the return for Hockenson, the Lions now have five of the first 65 picks in the 2023 draft. The exact location of the picks are of course subject to change based on the results over the rest of the season, but the Lions should still have five of the first 70-75 picks next April.

-First round, No. 1 overall

–First round, No. 14 overall (from Rams in the Stafford/Goff trade)

-Second round, No. 33 overall actually the 32nd pick because Miami forfeited first rounder for tampering)

-Second round, No. 62 overall (from Vikings)

-Third round, No. 65

The Lions picked up Hockenson’s fifth-year option for 2023 last spring, so that $9.4 million is now off their books for next year. They actually weren’t in as great a shape as you might think in regard to cap space looking ahead to the offseason, so that’s a big chunk of extra room.

Hockenson once seemed to be a locked-in part of the future for the Lions, with a contract extension only a matter of time. But when negotiations on said deal still had yet to start, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, trading Hockenson for more draft capital became palatable. What is done with those picks will ultimately tell the full tale of the trade, but the immediate grade for the Lions here is solid.

Grade: B