Kevin O’Connell Plans to Revive a Forgotten Playmaker
On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings want to snap the losing streak against the Detroit Lions. The squad has lost five straight to division rivals, including one in last year’s pivotal Week 18 showdown with the division crown and the top seed in the NFC playoff race on the line. Ultimately, the Lions won and both franchises got immediately bounced from the postseason.
Kevin O’Connell Plans to Revive a Forgotten Playmaker
It’ll be the third start for young passer J.J. McCarthy, who has missed the club’s last five games with a high ankle sprain. The hopes of Skol Nation lie on his shoulders, with everyone hoping he can get the ball to his pass-catchers, primarily including Justin Jefferson and his wingmen Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor, and T.J. Hockenson.
The latter has not had a strong start at all to his 2025 campaign, at least from a numbers perspective. McCarthy struggled to find his big-bodied weapon in the middle of the field. Carson Wentz got him more involved, but it just hasn’t been a strong receiving season for Detroit’s former draft choice.
Asked about how he can get his tight end going, head coach Kevin O’Connell answered by explaining the lack of yards, “There’s only so many people when you start talking about some of the things that’s happened along the o-line, that you’re trying to get help here or there when you can and kind of have the starting point of a successful play on the down be one where you can keep the quarterback upright as [good] as possible. There are defensive players on every defense we play and have played this season that can be schematical problems because there’s very little scheme to limit their impact on the game, and sometimes it requires the tight ends to be selfless.”
Hockenson has indeed been used as an extra blocker on the inside, rather than the big slot receiver he was in the three years he’s been in the Twin Cities. The reason for that is obvious: In most games, the Vikings didn’t have their star tackle combination on the field, and Justin Skule and Walter Rouse are simply overmatched against Myles Garrett or T.J. Watt. Sending tight end help can at least help contain their disruptive nature.
Blocking has never been Hockenson’s strong suit, and most would classify him as a receiving tight end, although he certainly isn’t a bad blocker by any means. He has done a fine job as the extra protector, chipping opposing rushers before getting out on his routes. The result is that his routes have been shorter and delayed, as shown by his yards per catch, which have dipped to 8.2, down from 11.1 last year and 10.1 in 2023.
Through the first seven games, Hockenson has caught 27 passes for 222 yards and one touchdown, which is by far the lowest yardage total in a seven-game span within a season he has produced since arriving in Minnesota.
But O’Connell wants to change that during Sunday’s rendezvous with Detroit. He teased that he wants to get his guy more involved.
“T.J. has made some big-time plays for us in moments this year, even off of helping on the edge a little bit, which is a pretty unique trait to him,” O’Connell stressed Friday. “But clearly, between T.J. and our receiving corps being some of the most impactful players on our whole team, we want to get those guys involved in the game, get the doing the things they do well and for T.J., I put a lot of things he does well, ahead of helping on the edges and it’s kind of a necessary thing when certain games and situations happen, but there’s no question, we want him to be heavily involved in the game.”
Regardless of the selfless help as a blocker, Hockenson is on pace to register 539 yards and two touchdowns this season. He’s paid to be one of the most productive players at his position, not a blocking tight end.
At some point, the Vikings have to feature their weapon that was on pace to challenge the single-season franchise receiving record for tight ends in 2023, before Lions defender Kerby Joseph handed him a significant knee injury. On a side note, Joseph has been ruled out for Sunday’s rematch.
Last season, Hockenson got a pass because he was clearly not his old self because of the injury, and this season, he’s actually looking more dynamic again. Yet, the numbers haven’t been there for the Iowa alumnus, and because of the lack of action, he has received some trade buzz lately.
McCarthy needs to remember that his tight end can be a quarterback’s best friend after barely targeting him in his first two outings. That could change on Sunday.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.