Inside the Article:
The Detroit Lions season has been one full of ups and downs, almost like as a fan we’re attending “America’s Roller Coast” Cedar Point every Sunday. This season has seen a team start 1-6, trade their top target tight-end T.J. Hockenson, and then rip off six wins in eight games. Now, the Detroit Lions’ tight ends are on the verge of setting a single-season franchise record.
The Detroit Lions tight ends have been a productive committee
When you bolster one of the best passing attacks in all of football, there is no doubt you have multiple targets that are effective in the passing game. One of those targets is usually a play-making tight end. The Lions thought they had that in Hockenson, though he often went spells without much production at all. In fact, on the season, Hockenson hauled in 23 of 46 targets for three scores and 395 yards. He was then traded to the Minnesota Vikings in their pursuit of the NFC North crown.
In his absence, it was required that the Lions work more in a tight-end-by-committee moving forward with the likes of Brock Wright, James Mitchell, and Shane Zylstra. In their own right, they have been productive, but are not the type of play-making tight ends you want to see in a high-octane passing attack. Yet, the Detroit Lions’ tight ends are on the verge of breaking, and most likely demolishing, a single-season franchise record that has stood for over a decade.
What record are the Detroit Lions tight ends about to break?
Touchdowns. Touchdowns. Touchdowns. It’s the name of the game and the Detroit Lions’ tight ends are doing their part. Through 15 games, the committee of tight ends has accumulated 10 touchdowns, one shy of the mark set by Tony Scheffler and Brandon Pettigrew back in 2011. Zylstra has accounted for four himself, three for Wright, and one for Mitchell. Add to that Hockenson’s three prior to his departure and you sit on the cusp of franchise history.
With two games left in the season, there is very little doubt that the Detroit Lions’ tight ends will set a new mark for single-season touchdowns. Especially when it seems they garner much more attention in the red zone, a place the Lions hope to be often as they encircle two wins and a potential playoff berth.
