At the 2022 NFL trade deadline, the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions were in far different places. The Lions were not the caliber of team they are now, and the Vikings were naturally in a win-now mindset with Kirk Cousins under center.
So the Lions sent tight end T.J. Hockenson to Minnesota, with draft picks going both ways. It was partially a financial decision for Detroit, as Hockenson was headed toward a big contract in a tight end market that was on the rise.
The Vikings indeed signed Hockenson to a four-year, $66 million contract extension in August of 2023, which made it look like the Lions had already won the trade. The immediate return has been impacted by his torn ACL late in the 2023 season, but it's fair to say the Vikings don't regret the trade.
Via the picks they got in the Hockenson trade, the Vikings ended up trading down and drafting safety Jay Ward in the fourth round of the 2023 draft. The 2024 fourth-rounder they got was sent to the New York Jets to move up for J.J. McCarthy.
Ward has been a core special teamer over the last two years, and the Vikings clearly saw McCarthy as their long-term quarterback. Time will tell if the latter idea comes to full bloom, but along with Hockenson, the Vikings did fine in the trade.
The Lions cannot say the same.
Final verdict declared on trade that sent T.J. Hockenson from Detroit Lions to Minnesota Vikings
After a lot of trade maneuvering with their own picks from the Hockenson trade, the Lions ended up with picks that landed them quarterback Hendon Hooker, defensive tackle Brodric Martin, wide receiver Antoine Green, cornerback Terrion Arnold, and running back Sione Vaki.
Mike Payton of AtoZ Sports laid out, as concisely as possible, all the maneuvering the Lions did with those picks from the Hockenson trade.
"The Lions took the 2023 second-round pick (55th pick) and moved it to Kansas City in exchange for a second (63), fourth (122), and seventh-round pick (249). They traded the 63rd pick to Denver, along with the 183rd pick acquired in the Trinity Benson trade, and received the 68th and 139th picks in return. The 68th pick turned out to be Hooker. They traded the 139th pick, along with the 122nd pick they received from KC, to Arizona for the pick that would be used to select Martin."
"The Lions moved pick 249 to Philadelphia as part of the D’Andre Swift trade. They got back the 219th pick and a 2025 fourth-round pick. They would use the 219th pick to select Green. The 2025 fourth-round pick was sent back to the Eagles to trade up for Vaki."
Arnold looks like a win for the Lions, and Vaki could be. A concussion in 2024 has derailed Green's career, and he was just a seventh-round pick.
The big negative marks are Hooker and Martin. Both were considered projects, but both have proven to be incredible third-round reaches by a front office that has mostly otherwise nailed the draft. And as Payton noted, as the final declaration, they were mistakes; both were off the Lions' roster by Tuesday afternoon.
Purely due to still having the players they ultimately came out of the deal with on their roster going into the 2025 season, the Vikings have won the Hockenson trade without question. If on-field results come from here on out, rooted in McCarthy being what Kevin O'Connell thinks he is, the balance will shift even more.