Dan Campbell played 11 seasons as an NFL tight end and knows a thing or two about the position.
“It’s unbelievable how much it’s changed,” Campbell said Monday. “Because it really has become, in a sense, really bona fide big receivers. There again, I call it big skill. It’s a big skill position is what it is, sometimes more than an actual tight end.”
As a player, Campbell said he was more “slow slug” than big skill.
“I could do none of those things (in the passing game that tight ends do now),” he said. “I mean, I was basically a tackle. So there is no comparison.”
When the Detroit Lions open the regular season Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers at Ford Field, two of the NFL’s best tight ends will play feature roles for their offenses.
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Before missing half of last season with a broken foot, the 49ers’ George Kittle had back-to-back 80-plus catch, 1,000-yard receiving seasons. He is a ferocious perimeter blocker and one of the keys to San Francisco’s scary rushing attack.
Kittle played one season at Iowa with Lions tight end T.J. Hockenson, who made his first Pro Bowl last year at age 23.
Hockenson caught 67 passes for 723 yards last season and should approach 1,000 yards this fall. He’s not quite the run blocker Kittle is, but he may be a better athlete and is just as integral a part of the Lions offense.
“I’ve had a lot of respect for Kittle just from afar watching him,” Campbell said. “I think he’s one of the rare tight ends that can do everything, and does it well. He does his dirty work, he’s not afraid to block. He can do all that stuff on the perimeter, but yet he’s a dynamic receiver. And he’s big, strong, physical. And our guy’s pretty dang good, too.
“He can do a lot of the things that Kittle does and I think that for us, he can — we got to find ways to get him the football and let him do what he does cause I know this, he can help us win.”
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The Lions will lean heavily on Hockenson in what looks to be an otherwise ordinary passing attack.
Hockenson is one of the few mismatch players on the Lions offense, too big to be covered by most cornerbacks and too shifty for most safeties and linebackers to handle one-on-one.
Hockenson did not play in preseason games this summer after suffering a shoulder injury in training camp. But Lions offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn saw enough of Hockenson’s connection with new quarterback Jared Goff to say “sky’s the limit” for his production this fall.
“He’s very talented,” Lynn said. “l like him. I think he’s a heck of a matchup for us against anybody else, safeties, linebackers. Some teams may even play a corner against T.J. But he is that crafty. And he’s just as good in the run game. And that’s what I like the most about him, very unselfish player. He’s going to give you everything he’s got.”
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Hockenson and Kittle have been friends since their playing days at Iowa. They keep offseason homes near each other in Tennessee, spend much of their down time training together and hanging out, and this spring filmed a commercial together at Kittle’s farm.
Hockenson said last month it will be “fun” to play against Kittle for the first time in their pro careers, though he declined to say if there will be friendly wager on the game.
“That’s one of my best buds, so that just makes it even more special,” Hockenson said. “But it’s still football, still a game I’ve been playing since I was 7 years old. So no pressure, no nothing, just going out there and doing my game.”
A game that remains mesmerizing for Campbell, who never had more than 22 catches in a season in his career.
“When I think of tight end, I think of somebody that still blocks the perimeter like Gronk (Rob Gronkowski) and Kittle and those guys, versus big skill,” Campbell said. “Big skill is a guy who he can do some of that, but really he’s a mismatch. He’s a big basketball player that can run and he can get open and create separation. I know this, both players (Kittle and Hockenson), they’re somewhat rare. I would say it’s probably even rarer to find a guy who can create separation but still block like a tackle. I think those guys are very rare. But it certainly has evolved.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.