When Drew Petzing was hired as the new offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions in the offseason, much hay was made about the increased importance of the tight end position. Among the many needs of the team, tight end is rarely discussed near the top of the list, but plenty of Lions fans would welcome more depth and quality in the TE room.
After Sam LaPorta suffered a season-ending injury in Week 10, the Lions struggled to get much out of the rest of their tight end rotation. When Brock Wright also landed on the injured reserve, Detroit was left without any reliable options.
Even though LaPorta and Wright will be back healthy for next season and are under contract, along with depth pieces Zach Horton and Thomas Gordon, the tight end remains a sneaky need for the Lions.
Fortunately, there are already capable tight ends hitting the market. NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported on Monday that the Jacksonville Jaguars were "releasing veteran TE Johnny Mundt," making him a free agent. As Pelissero notes, Mundt quickly becomes one of the better blocking tight ends on the market.
Johnny Mundt Is an Intriguing Option for Lions After Release
Mundt has never been very productive as a receiver. His career-high in receptions in a season is 19, and yards is 172. He has mostly been a TE2 for most of his career, playing most of his snaps as a pass blocker. In that role, however, few tight ends have consistently been better than him.
As a Jaguar in 2025, Mundt received a career-best 78.9 pass-blocking grade on Pro Football Focus. That ranks higher than any of the tight ends who saw snaps for Detroit last season.
Wright, who currently has the inside track to be the TE2 entering training camp, has never had a pass-blocking grade above 64.0 for his career and was at 53.2 last season. It's not like Wright is a world-beater as a playmaker, either, finishing last season with 14 catches for 108 yards.
The Lions already have a highly productive receiving threat at TE1 in LaPorta. Having his backup be more of a blocker would add a valuable element to the offense and help boost the rest of the running and passing game.
If the Lions end up using more two-TE sets under Petzing, having more depth and quality in the position will be needed. Whether Mundt sufficiently checks the boxes for what the Lions are looking for, and if they should go for a higher-level option like David Njoku (who has a connection with Petzing), remains to be seen.