T.J. Hockenson isn't Rob Gronkowski, but he's right for Detroit Lions

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Let's get this out of the way early: T.J. Hockenson is not Rob Gronkowski. 

Comparing Hockenson to Gronkowski is a natural thing to do after the Lions made the former their first-round pick in Thursday’s NFL draft, but Gronkowski — a favorite of second-year Lions coach Matt Patricia — is one of the greatest tight ends of this generation and it’s unrealistic to expect anyone to match his feats on the football field.

[ Detroit Lions get C-minus for drafting Iowa's T.J. Hockenson. Here's why ]

But Gronk clone or not, Hockenson still can be a home run pick for Patricia, general manager Bob Quinn and the rest of the Lions organization.

He’s as well-rounded a tight end as has entered the NFL since Gronkowski in 2010, and he should have an immediate impact on both the Lions’ running and passing games this fall.

Hockenson was a popular mock draft choice for writers predicting what the Lions would do in recent weeks because he checked every box the Lions look for in players.

He’s tough and coachable. He loves the game. He improved steadily in his three seasons at Iowa, which culminated with him winning the Mackey Award as the nation’s best tight end last fall.

And maybe most importantly, he’s a culture fit for a Lions team that had too few of those in their locker room last year.

Hockenson is by no means a finished product. He needs to get bigger and stronger to take on NFL linemen, but he comes with a grit and tenacity the Lions’ most recent first-round tight end, Eric Ebron, lacked.

Ebron, the Lions’ thin-skinned first-round pick from 2014, seemed to scoff at the selection Thursday on Twitter, twice retweeting former teammates with laughing emojis directed at the pick.

[ Did Detroit Lions just draft Eric Ebron Part II? Not quite ]

The Lions whiffed on Ebron, taking him ahead of Aaron Donald and Odell Beckham and a host of other productive players, and Bob Quinn shipped Ebron out of town last spring not only because of the money he was owed but also because of his lack of fit in a Patricia-run locker room.

Ebron is a talented player, as his production with the Indianapolis Colts last year proved. But he’s a completely different player than Hockenson, who most analysts considered an easy top-10 talent in a draft loaded with defensive playmakers.

“Combo guy that you don’t get very often out of college now,” NFL Network analyst Charles Davis told me at a pre-draft event Wednesday. “And he’s not just a guy that’s a willing blocker, which we use all the time. He actually mauls people.”

If it isn’t clear by now, that’s what the Lions want to be, a team that mauls people on offense and defense and physically breaks their will.

That’s why Quinn drafted offensive linemen with two of his three first-round picks (and a middle linebacker with his other) in his three previous drafts, and that’s why the Lions went out and spent huge money in free agency on defensive end Trey Flowers despite Flowers never having 10 sacks in a season in college or the pros.

When all is said and done, Hockenson shouldn’t be compared to Gronkowski or Mark Bavaro or any of the other tight ends that have come before him. Instead, the ultimate measure of this pick - like the Ebron selection - will come down to what Hockenson and those taken after him did in their NFL careers.

If Ed Oliver, who went to the Buffalo Bills one pick after the Lions took Hockenson - and, ironically, is someone who drew Donald comparisons during the build up to the NFL draft – has a Hall of Fame career, well, Lions fans will look back on this pick and weep.

The same could be said for Devin Bush Jr. or Brian Burns or any of the other half-dozen players connected to the Lions who were still on the board when the they turned in their card Thursday.

But in the moment, Hockenson feels like a sensible pick for the Lions, one who embodies much of what they’re trying to do as an organization even if he never reaches Gronkowski's heights.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Read more on the Detroit Lions and sign up for our Lions newsletter.