Final Countdown: Packers, Lions and Premier Tight Ends

With Robert Tonyan and T.J. Hockenson, the Packers and Lions will have playmaking tight ends on the field at Ford Field. Plus much, much more in a final look at Sunday's game.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – There’s a reason why the Detroit Lions used the eighth pick of the 2019 draft on T.J. Hockenson.

It’s the same reason why the Green Bay Packers gave Martellus Bennett a three-year, $21 million contract in 2017, Jimmy Graham a three-year, $30 million contract in 2018 and used third-round picks on Jace Sternberger in 2019 and Josiah Deguara in 2020.

Difference-making tight ends are worth their weight in gold.

“It puts a lot of stress on your defense” when you have one, Packers coach Matt LaFleur said.

The Lions appear to have hit a home run with Hockenson. With four games remaining, Hockenson is third among tight ends with 52 receptions and 614 yards and tied for sixth with five touchdowns. He figures to smash the franchise record for receiving yards by a tight end, Brandon Pettigrew’s 777 yards on 83 receptions in 2011.

The Packers swung and missed on Bennett and Graham and, at this point, have two foul balls from Sternberger and one from Deguara. Fortunately, they might have got the equivalent of a pinch-hit grand slam from Robert Tonyan.

Tonyan enters Sunday’s game at Detroit with 41 receptions for 497 yards and eight touchdowns. In Packers history, the tight ends records are:

Receptions: Jermichael Finley, 61.

Yards: Paul Coffman, 814.

Touchdowns: Coffman, 11.

Tonyan is on a pace to finish with 55 receptions for 663 yards and 11 touchdowns. If he averages a manageable five catches per game, he’ll match Finley’s record. With a three-game touchdown streak fueled by an innate ability to work his way open, the scoring record is within his grasp, as well.

Moreover, among all tight ends who have been targeted at least 40 times, Tonyan is first in catch rate (89.1 percent). Plus, he is first in touchdowns of 20-plus yards (four), tied for first in touchdowns with Travis Kelce (eight) and tied for first with Rob Gronkowski on receptions of passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield (six).

Tight ends like Hockenson and Tonyan, because they can stretch the field and aren’t just receivers of last resort, must be accounted for at all times.

“The types of coverages that you play can definitely have an impact on whether or not you even need somebody on him,” LaFleur said. “But when you’re playing man or a match coverage, then you’ve got to be well aware of that matchup and what could happen if you have a bad matchup there.”

Tonyan – once upon a time a 34.3 percent passer at Indiana State – opened a few eyes when he got on the field a bit in 2018. He opened a few more with a solid start to 2019 before a core muscle injury. He’s been a sensation this season, though, in providing the threat the Packers have lacked at tight end since Jared Cook’s lone season in 2016.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was ahead of the curve by three years. The Packers signed Tonyan – who spent his rookie training camp with the Lions – to the practice squad on Dec. 5, 2017. At the time, Rodgers was working his way back from a broken collarbone.

“Robert’s had a really nice season but you knew it early on,” Rodgers said on Wednesday. “His development has been aided in part by the guys he’s been able to be around.”

That list includes willing mentors such as Graham and Marcedes Lewis, plus offseason workouts with perhaps the best tight end in the NFL, San Francisco’s George Kittle.

“He’s always had the confidence,” Rodgers continued. “Once he felt comfortable with his body with the weight that he’s carrying, I think you’ve seen him really take off in all phases of what it means to be a tight end.

“When you’re around guys like that, you can’t help but pick up some of the things that make those guys great. It’s fun to see him with so many touchdowns this year and a lot of the hard work that he’s put in come to fruition. That’s always the tough thing for professionals. We’re so critiqued and judged a lot of times on the stats, and you might not have the numbers that reflect the way that you’re playing. But it is nice for Robert to have the stats to back up the progress that he’s made.”

Handling Hockenson

Tonyan’s not the only tight end who’s taken a big jump this season. So has Hockenson, who leads the team with 52 receptions. In his last three games, he’s caught 16 passes for 241 yards.

“You better know where he’s at on every play,” LaFleur said.

Both defenses have been excellent against tight ends. The Lions have allowed a league-low 38 receptions against tight ends. Green Bay has allowed the third-fewest receptions with 45.

“It’s a variety of things,” Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine said. “When we put together a plan, you’re always going to evaluate the other team’s skill group. Who are the tight ends and how do they use them and when are they on the field? And if it’s a group that’s been very productive and a big part of their success, then you have to scheme to take away from it. I do think the experience of our two safeties, Adrian (Amos) and especially Darnell (Savage) playing at a high level, they in certain things (are) responsible for the tight ends.”

Touchdown Tonyan

Tonyan’s eighth touchdown came last week against Philadelphia. The play was made possible by sublime protection from the offensive line, Rodgers’ patience and Tonyan’s ability to get open through route-running, athleticism or feel.

According to the NextGen Stats fueled by Zebra Sports RFID technology, Rodgers had a whopping 5.47 seconds to throw on the 25-yard connection.

“That was a big-time credit to our offensive line to hold up as long as they did,” LaFleur said.

While Rodgers has played faster this season than in years past, it was his league-best seventh touchdown of the season with a time to throw of 4-plus seconds.

Tonyan was wide open on the play, which has been a theme this season. Tonyan’s average of 4.4 yards of separation on each target is No. 1 among tight ends, according to Next Gen Stats.

“There have been a couple of times that he’s been able to get off the line and he’s really put some good moves on some guys and come open,” offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said. “He has the one corner-post in the game a couple weeks ago (against Chicago), that was all him. A guy was chasing him and he was able to shake him. Another one (against Atlanta), a guy tried to tackle him and he somersaulted out of it.

“This past game, he was early in the progression and he kept playing throughout the progression, even though he didn’t get the ball. And he was able to end up in a spot. I think he’s doing a great job and understanding those details of even the extended portion of the play.”

One More Tight End Note

The Packers are adding tight end Isaac Nauta to their practice squad. He was drafted by the Lions last year and was released last week. Lions interim coach Darrell Bevell expected the Packers to dig for intel.

“Yeah, it’s definitely a concern,” he said. “It’s something that we think about all the time, and all of us are pretty secretive about what we’re doing. Nowadays, with the TV cameras and the microphones everywhere, there’s always some of that going on anyways, just changing things up. But definitely when a player goes to an opponent that you’re playing that week, it’s something we have to definitely take into consideration, yes.”

Speaking of Bevell

Bevell is a Wisconsin legend. The Badgers hadn’t played in a Rose Bowl in 31 years. The 1993 team returned to Pasadena and faced UCLA on Jan. 1, 1994. Bevell’s unlikely 21-yard touchdown run helped give the Badgers a 21-16 win and the school’s first Rose Bowl victory.

“I think it’s a little ironic. The play I’m known for in Wisconsin history was a run, since I was not the fastest guy,” Bevell said on Thursday.

In 2000, then-Packers coach Mike Sherman hired Bevell as an offensive assistant. By 2013, he had moved up to quarterbacks coach.

“I was a very young coach in the NFL, gave me my first shot,” Bevell said of Sherman. “Just a QC (quality control) guy, it wasn’t quite easy from the first day and there was a lot of growing pains in terms of learning on the job and exactly what they wanted me to do. But, after a couple months, I think I turned it around. I was able to earn his respect, earn (offensive coordinator Tom) Rossley’s respect, as well. When I was able to do that, they started giving you a little bit more and a little bit more and a little bit more. All of a sudden, they’re saying, ‘Why don’t you take a look at third down, see what your ideas there?’ And then I was entrusted to be the quarterback coach.”

In 2015, Bevell’s quarterbacks room included a legend, Brett Favre, and a future legend, Rodgers.

“Well, a lot of my time was spent walking around looking for Favrey,” Rodgers recalled on Wednesday. “That was one of my responsibilities as a rookie was trying to figure out where Favrey was and head into the back to see where he was he was hanging out and say, ‘Hey, Coach Bevell wants you.’”

Rodgers credited Bevell for working on his mechanics and helping him understand the importance of timing his drop in the pocket with the receivers’ routes.

“That was quite an interesting year,” Rodgers said. “Obviously, we had a tough year on the field, but I do look at back fondly at that first season in the NFL, being able to be in the room with both Darrell and Brett.”

Stats That Aren’t for Losers

- Davante Adams doesn’t care about facing top cornerbacks and he doesn’t care about facing the Lions, who will be without starting cornerbacks Jeff Okudah (ruled out on Friday) and Desmond Trufant (injured reserve).

“As everybody in the world probably knows by now, that’s not really how I approach the game as far as who’s guarding me,” Adams said. “However they decide to come out, I’m not going to be able to do much about it. I can’t choose the coverage they’re in, so I’ve just got to do me and diagnose coverage and realize what they’re in. That way, I can get the jump and be in an advantageous leverage or situation as many times as possible.”

Adams’ route-running acumen gives him a regular advantage. According to Next Gen Stats, Adams has 10-plus targets on seven different types of routes: screen, cross, hitch, slant, in, out and go. That’s the most different routes with double-digit targets in the NFL.

“Obviously, he’s one of if not the best receiver in the league,” Lions defensive backs coach Steven Gregory said this week. “He has great hands and his ability to get off the line of scrimmage when you're in press and his ability to sit and read zone coverages and, obviously, the timing of him and Rodgers always being on the same page, it's pretty incredible the way they can produce out on the field.”

- Adams has a seven-game streak with six-plus receptions and one-plus touchdown. That’s tied with Terrell Owens (Dallas, 2017) for the longest in NFL history.

- The Packers are No. 1 in the NFL with 31.6 points per game. The Lions are No. 31 with 29.8 points allowed per game. When facing a bottom-four scoring defense in December, Rodgers is undefeated with an average margin of victory of 20.3 points, according to NFL Research.

- All-time against the Packers, Lions running back Adrian Peterson is third with 2,016 rushing yards and second with 16 rushing touchdowns. Peterson’s got a good chance to move to No. 2 in rushing; Barry Sanders holds that spot with 2,059 yards. Walter Payton is first with 2,484 rushing yards and 19 rushing touchdowns.

“I know a lot of times when you have all-time great players, when they lose one step, it gets exaggerated, but him losing a step is better than a lot of backs,” Amos said. “That’s not me saying that he’s losing a step or anything; I’m just saying he’s still a great back, still a great talent. I don’t think he’s ever going to lose that running-angry mentality. That’s somebody that we’ve got to get multiple hats to the ball and make sure we wrap up.”

- In the Week 2 game, running back Aaron Jones had 236 yards from scrimmage. That was the third-most in franchise history behind Billy Howton’s 257 yards in 1956 and Don Hutson’s 237 yards in 1943.

- Rodgers has posted a 100-plus passer rating in seven consecutive games. That’s the eighth-longest streak in NFL history. Rodgers owns that record, with a 12-game run during his MVP season of 2011.

- With 36 touchdowns vs. four interceptions, Rodgers has authored two of three seasons in NFL history with 35-plus touchdowns and five-or-fewer interceptions through the first 12 games of a season. Rodgers had 37 touchdowns vs. five interceptions in 2011 and Tom Brady had 41 touchdowns vs. five interceptions in 2007.

- With a victory, Green Bay would become the first franchise to win 800 games (including playoffs).

The Last Word Goes To …

WR Davante Adams. Does he prefer making a contested catch or getting wide open with his route-running?

“I’ll take the wide open, breaking a guy off over a contested catch any day. Obviously, if you’ve got to have the contested catch, I’ll take that. You’re not always going to be wide open. But I’ll take where you just lose a guy because I feel like that takes a man’s soul. When they really put all they have into stopping you, especially when you’re getting double-teamed and you break two guys off, I’ll take that any day of the week.”

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