Man...I watched a mock draft show and they had TJ at 12 and Noah at 32. The gushed over Hockenson and crapped all over Fant. It was weird. He doesn't block, he drops balls, and this and that. They then said, maybe the Alabama TE would be a better fit.
I agree Hockenson is the better all around player, but if you needed a guy to beat a safety in a corner route and go up and get it...I'd pick Fant. When it's for money, and it's an NFL coach telling him he's got to run block...I think Fant gets the message. I love them both...and they both are going to have great career...but the way this group of "experts" tanked on Fant was surprising. The guy is a freak...and freaks with a head on their shoulders become stars in the NFL.
It is funny, start of the season it was all, "Fant is the best TE in the nation." And that mindset was tough to get past for a lot even as Hockenson was proving the slightly superior overall TE during the season. After the season, there was a poll on who would go first, and I think it was about 70/30 picking Fant.
Then the scouts started to pour over the film, and Hockenson rocketed up draft boards. All of a sudden he was a potential top-10, and Fant was falling to the bottom of the 1st round.
Then Fant did what we all knew he would do at the combine, and all of a sudden people had him as the first TE off the board, completely forgetting about all of the game-film Hockenson had laid down in 2018.
Now, a bit removed from the combine, we are back to Hock being the 1st TE, and Fant being #2.
As that highlight video linked above shows, Fant can be a really good blocker. He has the size, power, and technique. He is less consistent with technique, but he is far from a "receiving only" TE. His speed is incredible, and his burst out of cuts is more like a WR than a TE. Frankly, if all you ever saw of him was running routes on air, he is an all-timer.
But football has more nuance. There are these little things like having a feel for holes in the zone, knowing how to get a guy leaning with your eyes, subtle jukes to clear space, knowing how to use your physicality and agility to your full advantage as a ball-carrier, unwavering focus on a ball in the midst of a sea of distractions. Hockenson just seems better at most of these things. So if I need to send a TE deep and have him "go up and get it", I would pick Hockenson.
That said, Fant is a stud, and I hope they both end up all-pro.
Beyer will be better than both of them, by the way