T.J. Hockenson grew up an hour south of Des Moines in Chariton, Ia. His parents attended Iowa State, but he wanted to play for the University of Iowa, knowing their reputation for developing tight ends. Iowa State offered before Iowa, but Hockenson chose to join the Hawkeyes, following in his older brother’s footsteps.
Hockenson admits being a little wide-eyed when he met George Kittle for the first time. Kittle is four years older than Hockenson and was a senior. He had established himself as an NFL prospect, and the San Francisco 49ers took him in the fifth round of the 2017 draft. Still, Hockenson discovered that he was just a dude.
“My first interaction, he was a fun, goofy guy,” Hockenson recalled. “I was a freshman, so my eyes were kind of wide open at the time. I didn’t really know. I was super nervous coming in and having the spotlight on tight ends, with it being ‘The University.’ So to come in and have a guy like that, just super fun-loving and didn’t really care about much, just loved the game of football and wanted to get better every day. That was kind of a guy you could look up to, so that’s what I did.”
In the summer of 2021, Kittle, Travis Kelce, and Greg Olsen formed Tight End University, a three-day convention in Nashville for one of football’s most unique positions. Kittle naturally included Hockenson; they both live in Nashville and have the Iowa connection. Kittle and Hockenson share similar, affable personalities but are serious about their craft. As a result, they have ascended to the top of their profession.
Netflix included Kittle in Receiver, their follow-up to last year’s Quarterback documentary series. Kittle is the lone tight end on the show, joining Davante Adams, Deebo Samuel, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Justin Jefferson. Last year, Cousins received a “Netflix bump” from the show. People fell in love with his everyman, Midwestern vibe, and his toughness after he played through a rib injury. Jefferson should receive similar acclaim, given his electric personality.
Kittle deserves to be on a show like Receiver. He’s one of the best players at his position, is easygoing, and plays on one of the best teams in the NFL. However, he’s not a receiver in the traditional sense. Kittle, Kelce, and Hockenson are viable receivers but also must block. It makes tight end a unique position and the ultimate team players. They can be involved in any play because of their versatile skill set.
There is also a brotherhood between tight ends in the league. It’s challenging to be a good enough receiver to run routes and create separation, while also establishing enough leverage as a blocker to open holes for running backs or buy extra time for the quarterback. Tight ends typically are fun-loving, goofy people. They naturally get along because they usually have similar personalities.
“In our position, there’s not really secrets,” Hockenson said in a Star Tribune feature on his relationship with Kelce and the other players at Tight End University. “We’re all kind of the same personality types, I guess: just fun-loving, careless. We like helping out others. It was one of those things that was a no-brainer. It’s kind of surprising it hadn’t happened before.”
When Kittle presented him with the idea of an annual tight end retreat in his adopted hometown, Hockenson loved it. During film sessions with Kelce, Hockenson tried to learn as much as possible from Kansas City’s star tight end. Kelce shared his approach to reading zone defenses and how he used his footwork to beat defenders in man coverage. Kelce showed Hockenson how he built his game to mirror Patrick Mahomes’ on-field freelancing.
“I could go off on a tangent about all the things he does,” Hockenson said regarding Kelce. “That’s kind of who I’ve admired throughout my time in the league. I think I have the ability to do a lot of the things he does. It is incredible to watch him and fun to be down in Nashville and pick his brain.”
Netflix should have left Kittle off the Receiver documentary and built a show around Tight End University. Kelce is an international star because he’s dating Taylor Swift, allowing him to draw attention to the show from casual football fans. We would see Kittle and Hockenson’s unique relationship and how they learned from Kelce. Greg Olsen is one of the best NFL broadcasters. This would make for compelling television.
Quarterback was incredibly successful for Netflix, and it makes sense that they went with receivers next — receivers tend to be entertaining on TV. However, they must continue expanding to other positions if they make it an annual series. A documentary on Tight End University would be compelling, given who’s involved in it. Unfortunately, that seems less likely, given Kittle is on the Receiver show.
