When the Minnesota Vikings made the trade for T.J. Hockenson at the 2022 trade deadline, it sent a signal for how general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was going to build the team.
By prioritizing trading for a tight end and then emphasizing premium positions with his highest draft picks, Adofo-Mensah understands what matters in regard to building a roster. Tight ends are hard to develop and take time to make it happen. In fact, most tight ends have their most success on their second team.
While the Vikings did strike gold with Hockenson, they almost didn't get him. During an appearance on the Bussin' With the Boys podcast, Hockenson revealed that he nearly went to the Miami Dolphins.
"Well, we heard Miami, that was the biggest thing. So kind of got excited about that, didn't you? It was, I mean, it's warm down there, and, you know, I mean, when it, when you talk about Minnesota and their their name, kind of started getting, like, we heard, like, Neil heard their name, and I was like, that'd be nice, because it's my, like, my family goes every game. My parents go to every game. They haven't missed a game since I've been, you know, 13 and so, like, they were driving to Detroit all the time, and that's eight hours there, not including Chicago traffic, you know, and then eight hours back. And so it's only four hours from my hometown, Minnesota is and so it's incredible for all of them, and for me to be able to be around family. My mom's from Minnesota, so I have a bunch of extended family there. So if I ever need anything, you know, I'm able to call them and I mean, there's, there is such thing as Minnesota nice, you know, like people around the the block, around your in your neighborhood, like they just love and they want to help out, you know, without being weird about it, you know?"
The Dolphins would have been a great fit for Hockenson, but his fit with the Vikings is tremendous. The way he dominates defenses with choice routes separates him from the rest of the group and it's why he ranks as a top-five tight end.
The NFL would look a lot different if the Vikings didn't end up with Hockenson and he was with Mike McDaniel's Dolphins squad.
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