Under the radar tight end can offer the Lions something that no other tight end can
The Detroit Lions had just gotten into pads last week when head coach Dan Campbell was asked if anyone had stood out yet. You would have thought that he would say something about a player that you already know about. Maybe Aidan Hutchinson or Penei Sewell. Instead, it was tight end that you may have […]
The Detroit Lions had just gotten into pads last week when head coach Dan Campbell was asked if anyone had stood out yet. You would have thought that he would say something about a player that you already know about. Maybe Aidan Hutchinson or Penei Sewell. Instead, it was tight end that you may have thought didn't have a shot to make the Lions' 53-man roster.
"Parker Hesse. Yeah, he did some things," Campbell said. "He did some things, which quite frankly, I don’t know if I’m that surprised. That’s kind of his game. Some of these guys, you run all of these pass-specific drills and you’re not in pads, but it’s – that’s kind of more his game too. But I would say, yeah, he showed up.”
Hesse is a guy that you might not have put much thought into, but he has a real shot of being on the Lions roster this season and contributing in a myriad of ways. That's something the Lions have been preaching about all offseason.
Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said the days of making the Lions roster based of just special teams play is over. Campbell said the Lions aren't looking for a one trick pony.
Hesse can obliviously be a solid blocking tight end. His pass blocking numbers have been pretty good and his run blocking has been ok too. Hesse can also play some fullback and we know he can play special teams. He did that in Atlanta.
But the one thing that he can bring to the Lions that no other tight end can is that he can play on defense in a pinch. Hesse was a defensive end at Iowa and was actually a pretty decent one. He had 13.5 sacks, two interceptions and 30.5 tackles for a loss as a four year starter at Iowa.
The Falcons had him take some snaps at defensive end and he has logged some tackles in the NFL. So there is some experience there in the league.
We're not saying that Hesse would start there. We're not even suggesting the Lions would consider doing that. What we are saying is that Dan Campbell just said last week "the more you can do, your value goes up.” This is one of those situations where Hesse presents value by being able to do one more thing that a tight end in front of him can't do. That's going to give him a shot to make the Lions think long and hard about rostering four tight ends. It's not out of the realm of possibility. The Lions just had four tight ends on the roster in 2022 and 2021. They may look to do it again in 2024.
Lions worked out former Cowboys’s starter and a collegiate award winner
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