In the Minnesota Vikings’ last two games with Josh Dobbs either as the primary quarterback in Week 9 against the Atlanta Falcons or in Week 10 against the New Orleans Saints, tight end T.J. Hockenson has been the NFL’s most productive player in the NFL at his position, with a league-high 18 catches for a league-high 204 yards and a touchdown.
The touchdown, which came with 22 seconds left in the first half of Minnesota’s 27-19 win, showed Dobbs’ subtle command of both the quarterback position, and of head coach Kevin O’Connell’s offense. Hockenson ran a post from the left slot, and Dobbs helped his receiver get open by moving his body in such a way that safety Lonnie Johnson Jr. might have believed that Dobbs was going to throw the ball elsewhere — perhaps something else to Hockenson, perhaps the in-cut to Jordan Addison on that side. Johnson got depth as a result of Dobbs’ movement. and that opened the post for Hockenson.
As Hockenson said, per our friends at Vikings Wire, there was an option element to the play.
“That’s a K.O. [O’Connell] special,” Hockenson said. “We kind of get an option to freelance a little bit, so saw what the safety was doing; he played outside, tried to lean him a little bit and get separation and Josh and I were on the same page. That was just a lot of fun.”
O’Connell also mentioned Hockenson’s ability to push Johnson vertically and then work inside in this breakdown.
All 11 played a part in @josh_dobbs1's TD toss to @TheeHOCK8
📺: https://t.co/trKTJBl5tB pic.twitter.com/L9SUTK1fro
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 15, 2023
But that’s not the only component of this throw. From the end zone angle, watch how Dobbs threw the ball over the head of linebacker Demario Davis, who had dropped as the middle-hole defender.
That, folks, is a professional throw.
As it turns out, Dobbs’ comfort with Hockenson isn’t accidental — the two have worked out together occasionally before either player was a member of the Vikings.
“Yeah, it definitely helps,” Dobbs said this week. “Obviously when we did those workouts, I think one year he was in Detroit at the time, and then it was this past offseason, as well, when he was already in Minnesota, so obviously I wasn’t his quarterback and it’s not like we planned on doing that in a game. But it was cool to have banked reps and banked communication with somebody, right? Especially one of your best playmakers on offense. [It’s good to] have reps with him, have a feel for how he gets in and out of routes.
“Obviously, there’s a matchup issue, and it shows on Sunday. So, getting that feel as the quarterback, it does take a different level when you have a guy that big who’s able to move the way he does. So, to have those reps has only helped us get on to the same page very quickly – obviously we saw the production in the first half – so yeah, we want to continue to add on to those improvements. I think I may have missed, some of them were a little behind him, where I can work on a better ball location so he can run and get some more yards after catch. We’re always finding ways we can improve so we can be better on Sunday.”
In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into how well Dobbs has taken command of Kevin O’Connell’s offense far more quickly than anybody had a right to expect.
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You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” featuring all of Week 11’s biggest games, right here:
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You can also subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…
…and on Apple Podcasts.