A different approach @ 14

[William Spires 19]

Protecting our franchise QB was our #1 offseason goal.  

We now have a former Head coach as our Tightends coach. 

Our Allpro Tightend will be a FA at the end of the year. 

We need better results in the red zone.  

Its not a bad thing if we can draft the BPA and address a need at the same time. 

The player for me that fits all of the above is TJ Hockenson

[g-dawg 39,555]

46 minutes ago, William Spires said:

Protecting our franchise QB was our #1 offseason goal.  

We now have a former Head coach as our Tightends coach. 

Our Allpro Tightend will be a FA at the end of the year. 

We need better results in the red zone.  

Its not a bad thing if we can draft the BPA and address a need at the same time. 

The player for me that fits all of the above is TJ Hockenson

no

[William Spires 19]

Not exactly what I was expecting from my first post on here, but I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion. 

Are you disagreeing with the fact that Hockenson doesn’t fit the 5 statements made or are you disagreeing that he shouldn’t be our pick at 14 ?

But before you answer think, (unlike when you responded the first time) about the fact that Hockenson is a dominant inline blocker in the run game. Also a double threat in the passing game as a receiver or blocker. He catches everything.  He not only protects MR but gives DK another weapon. Who else at 14 provides that value ?

[thethirdtate 212]

5 hours ago, William Spires said:

Protecting our franchise QB was our #1 offseason goal.  

We now have a former Head coach as our Tightends coach. 

Our Allpro Tightend will be a FA at the end of the year. 

We need better results in the red zone.  

Its not a bad thing if we can draft the BPA and address a need at the same time. 

The player for me that fits all of the above is TJ Hockenson

I don’t agree that a Tight end would be helpful at 14. Protecting the qb would come more from a lineman. We need trench help so anything o line or d line should be the pick. 

[OilFuturesTrader19 1,687]

5 hours ago, William Spires said:

Protecting our franchise QB was our #1 offseason goal.  

We now have a former Head coach as our Tightends coach. 

Our Allpro Tightend will be a FA at the end of the year. 

We need better results in the red zone.  

Its not a bad thing if we can draft the BPA and address a need at the same time. 

The player for me that fits all of the above is TJ Hockenson

Tight End is way low on totem pole for needs. Plus, a tight end @ 14??? He better be the second coming of Tony Gonzalez. Which this guy is not.

 

 

[Romfal 10,895]

I love Hockerson but TE is the least of our problems

[RYNE 5,310]

I’m a Hawkeye fan. Seen every game Hockenson ever played. Love the player. But helI no 

[William Spires 19]

When Ty Sambrailo or Ryan Schrader are lined up at RT for the Falcons on obvious passing downs and the defense has their best edge rusher lined up across from them, remember your negativity about TJ as Matt runs  for his life. 

Also when we prioritize signing Debo & Neal...Hooper walks and we could have had his replacement already in house. 

Think about Gronkowski and the Patriots. That’s what TJ Hockenson can bring to the Falcons.  

There are several defensive line prospects available later in the draft. I have Daylon Mack in the third and Greg Gains in the seventh in my mock to the Falcons. Offensive line I have Erik McCoy in the second and Terrone Prescod as one of my 4th rounders. 

We may or may not have a shot for TJ Hockenson at 14. If we do and draft anyone else, I feel we will regret it for the next ten years. He is a special talent 

[FalconFan13 1,283]

I would drive to the Branch and kick TD in the balls myself personally if he were to pick Hock in the 1st round over more talented and much more needed players.  If you are so worried about a OT not living up to it at RT then take Williams, Taylor, or Ford at 14 and call it a day.  I will take a elite O-lineman over a elite TE every day of the week.  Even more so when we already have a pro bowl TE as our starter as it sits.

[William Spires 19]

Hopefully TD has his cup on at the end of April !  Did we need a wide receiver last year when we took Calvin Ridley in the first round ? No but it ends up a great pick.

You do realize that Hockenson won the John Mackey award as the nations top tight end as a red shirt Sophomore ?? I understand we have Austin Hooper ( for one more year ), DK utilizes a lot of two tight end sets and Hooper is more of a receiver anyway. TJ Hockenson is a phenomenal blocker and receiver.

He could very well be the next Tony Gonzalez. If he’s available at our pick # 14 he needs to be a falcon !!

 

[Summerhill 1,282]

The history of 1st round tight ends is rough. I think it's better to wait. 

[etherdome 5,327]

On ‎3‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 8:54 PM, thethirdtate said:

I don’t agree that a Tight end would be helpful at 14. Protecting the qb would come more from a lineman. We need trench help so anything o line or d line should be the pick. 

I like that the OP is thinking outside of the box, but I have to agree with you.  We need a real OL made up of legitimate OL talent.  A blocking TE can be drafted much later and probably will be. 

[Knight of God 48,259]

I like the thinking, don’t like the playa.

[thethirdtate 212]

12 hours ago, etherdome said:

I like that the OP is thinking outside of the box, but I have to agree with you.  We need a real OL made up of legitimate OL talent.  A blocking TE can be drafted much later and probably will be. 

Yes and I believe we get that solid blocking tight end that’s not a liability in the pass game with a comp pick. Probably Issac from ga since his 40 time hurt him. 

[datchrisb1 531]

On 3/10/2019 at 3:39 PM, William Spires said:

Protecting our franchise QB was our #1 offseason goal.  

We now have a former Head coach as our Tightends coach. 

Our Allpro Tightend will be a FA at the end of the year. 

We need better results in the red zone.  

Its not a bad thing if we can draft the BPA and address a need at the same time. 

The player for me that fits all of the above is TJ Hockenson

I wouldn't be mad or surprised. I do think you are over estimating Hockenson's ability to be an inline blocker. Will he win against NFL DEs consistently doubt it, 3-4 linebackers maybe. He's not going to be this dominate blocker like a Gronk, he's more close to a bigger Kittle to me. Not that dominate and nasty in the blocking game, to me that stuff is 80% want to and attitude, not your measurables and how big you are. He will be a good redzone target IMO.

 

*edit: commented thinking of Fant. Wrong player. 

[William Spires 19]

Did you do some research on Hoc once you realized you were thinking of Fant ? We already have more of a Fant clone in Hooper. 

Hockenson @ 14 is a no brainer to me if he’s even available then. All off season I’ve read “Establish the run game” & “ Protect our Franchise QB” & “More efficient in the Red Zone “...One player in this draft can contribute to all three of these needs.

We hired a former HC to coach tight ends and our new OC utilitizes the TE in his screen game and red zone plays. I mean really didn’t Tampa just use a #1 pick on OJ Howard in the 17’ draft ? I bet Dirk Kotter is drolling over the possibility of drafting TJ .

This draft is full of defensive line talent. In most of my mock drafts Dexter Lawrence has been available at our pick in the second and Daylon Mack in the third. Either of these DT at the 1T would pair nicely with GJ . From what I’ve read there seems to be a flaw with almost all the offensive linemen... either strength in anchor mobility, or footwork in pass pro. Tackles need to be guards and guards need to be centers n the NFL. Not worthy of a #14 pick n my opinion.

You won’t read any negativity about TJ Hockenson ! Make him a Falcon !!

 

 

[William Spires 19]

And to KOG 

Im not sure why you don’t like the playa.                                                   His ceiling is like a skyscraper elevata

[g-dawg 39,555]

On 3/10/2019 at 5:51 PM, William Spires said:

Not exactly what I was expecting from my first post on here, but I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion. 

Are you disagreeing with the fact that Hockenson doesn’t fit the 5 statements made or are you disagreeing that he shouldn’t be our pick at 14 ?

But before you answer think, (unlike when you responded the first time) about the fact that Hockenson is a dominant inline blocker in the run game. Also a double threat in the passing game as a receiver or blocker. He catches everything.  He not only protects MR but gives DK another weapon. Who else at 14 provides that value ?

William Spires,   the Falcons have in past - and will in the future - as stated by the man himself - one Thomas Dimitroff - will draft for need.  Can talent TRUMP need? in some cases but only where the talent is so great that it cannot be denied.

Tight End is the least of our needs.   We have a young Tight End who had breakout season last year with a prospect behind him that has not broken through but has some nice traits.   Could we use another TE?  sure.   Could we draft one this year? sure    Is Tight End even in our Top 5 needs?  No.    Is Hockenson so talented that it would Trump other players?  No.    -- I am not saying Hock isn't a good player - he is - but he is not soooo special and soooo talented that he would warrant being selected at #14 - there will be BETTER PLAYERS at more needed positions at #14.

Plan and Simple.

Short and Sweet.

[William Spires 19]

Being a new poster here, but actually a Falcons fan for decades, I sincerely appreciate your time and thought process at an actual explanation of why you don’t feel drafting a tight end at 14 is a need for the Falcons.

We evidently can continue to agree that we disagree. With the extension of Ty Sambrilio and FA signings yesterday of J. Carpenter & J. Brown, our offensive line NEEDS have lessened somewhat; but establishing the run and protecting MR are the priorities. With that in mind: TJ Hockenson   ( being a dominant blocker ) > what we have now. Therefore this pick would fit a NEED.

$$$. Grady wants more $.           Julio wants more $... We definitely need to extend Neal & Debo, mo $ mo $ pronto. Problem is, we have no $.  So to prioritize our NEEDS, our “young, breakout TE “ walks and we are left with “ a nice traits prospect” as our starting TE next year.  Therefore my “plain & simple” is $$$ wise TJ Hockenson  fits a NEED. “Short and Sweet”

Add to all this the fact that  by drafting TJ Hockenson we are adding another Red Zone weapon to our arsenal which fits another NEED ( red zone efficiency )

Fellow Falcon fans try to digest this food for thought .  It’s just good ole common football sense to me.  Let’s make TJ Hockenson  a Falcon !!

[William Spires 19]

Luke Stocker ??  Dam*.......Doesn’t  TD read these post ??

[FalconFan13 1,283]

On 3/11/2019 at 10:03 AM, William Spires said:

Hopefully TD has his cup on at the end of April !  Did we need a wide receiver last year when we took Calvin Ridley in the first round ? No but it ends up a great pick.

You do realize that Hockenson won the John Mackey award as the nations top tight end as a red shirt Sophomore ?? I understand we have Austin Hooper ( for one more year ), DK utilizes a lot of two tight end sets and Hooper is more of a receiver anyway. TJ Hockenson is a phenomenal blocker and receiver.

He could very well be the next Tony Gonzalez. If he’s available at our pick # 14 he needs to be a falcon !!

 

Actually we did need a WR last year considering we lost our #3 WR and key part of our offense in Taylor Gabriel.  Where as so far we have 4 TE's on the roster and im pretty sure we won't keep more than 3 of them.   Hooper, Stocker, and Paulsen are probably the 3 we keep unless Saubert somehow shows out this offseason.

[duckhoa 363]

No way we get a TE in the first.

having had to watch the defense in 2018 made me feel unhappy.....we couldn't make a stop to win a game....on multiple occasions.

 I am sure that Quinn feels the same way.  

This whole offseason points to a defense dominated draft.

[William Spires 19]

11 hours ago, duckhoa said:

No way we get a TE in the first.

having had to watch the defense in 2018 made me feel unhappy.....we couldn't make a stop to win a game....on multiple occasions.

 I am sure that Quinn feels the same way.  

This whole offseason points to a defense dominated draft.

I don’t disagree with you about last year, but we did have several key defensive players out due to season ending injuries. Their return will make the defense instantly better. Agree ?

Another thing that made me unhappy last year was not only to make a stop on defense, but to settle for a field goal on offense. Three points instead of 6. Right ? Red zone efficiency !                   We also had too many 3 and outs on offense and the ground game was almost extinct.

I guess the long and short of it is that sustaining drives keeps the defense off the field and fresh for the 4th quarter. Someone that gives us the ability to score 6 points instead of 3 means more points which translates to more wins. Agree ?

Drafting just any TE isn’t a need just like you said “No way”         But drafting a special talent like a TJ Hockenson who can change a game in so many ways by extending drives with an outstanding block or scoring a touchdown with an unbelievable catch is whom I take with my first pick. Without A Doubt,