DETROIT -- A little under two weeks ago, T.J. Hockenson had just made one of the biggest plays of his young NFL career -- a game-tying catch with no time left in a thrilling comeback against Atlanta. It was a big moment for the franchise and moreover, one for Hockenson, who took another step in his development, showcasing what what Hockenson had shown in practice and what the Lions had been waiting on since they drafted him a year ago.

Hockenson has the ability to make a big play at a big time. He could be "the guy" quarterback Matthew Stafford can count on when he needs to go somewhere in a critical spot.

That’s important now, since Detroit’s offensive options could end up looking a little bit different for a bit. Star receiver Kenny Golladay is injured -- and did not practice Wednesday -- and it’s not clear if he’ll be able to play against Minnesota with his banged-up hip.

And it’s possible it might not be a wide receiver who picks up the larger portion of Golladay's production. Instead, it might Hockenson. Last week, with Golladay sidelined in the second half against the Colts, Hockenson led the Lions with 10 targets. It was the second-highest target amount of his career on a day where he ran the second-most routes of his career, 32.

With Stafford going on the COVID-19 reserve list Wednesday as a “high-risk, close contact,” according to ESPN Insider Adam Schefter, that could make Hockenson’s value to Detroit go even higher. If the Lions end up without Stafford on Sunday, they would likely turn to Chase Daniel as the starter.

This could make Hockenson, who was limited as well Wednesday with a toe injury, someone who gets even more targets if Detroit tries to take some of the downfield shots out of the passing game with Daniel, who doesn’t have the arm strength Stafford does. Detroit could also look to use shorter routes because both of the Lions’ starting tackles from last week, Taylor Decker and Halapoulivaati Vaitai, did not practice on Wednesday and another starter on the offensive line, Joe Dahl, was limited.

"I don't know if that's the exact thing to say. We have a bunch of good players on our offense and we're trying to get the ball to all those guys," offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said. "T.J. is definitely one of them. Marvin Jones is a guy. Obviously Kenny's a guy. Danny Amendola comes up big, Marvin Hall had a big game last week, and I'd like to get the ball to [D'Andre] Swift.

"So we have players. Obviously Kenny would be a big loss for us because the big plays that he can do and you've seen him the last couple weeks with over 100 yards in games. But we have other players, and I think all of them need to step up and be able to help us make plays on offense."

With Hockenson, it wouldn’t necessarily be in replicating how Golladay is used. Golladay is more of a vertical receiver (35.4 percent of his routes, according to ESPN Stats & Information) who also runs short inside routes (13.8 percent) while Hockenson only runs vertical routes a little more than one-fifth of the time (21.9 percent) and is heavily used in short outside routes (25.8 percent) and pivot routes (17.4 percent).

But moreover in the attention and looks he’ll get from Stafford.

“I’m prepared to do what I need to do to help this team, whether it’s being that guy, I’m going to be that guy,” Hockenson said. “If it’s blocking three out of the four downs, I’m going to be that guy. So I think any opportunity that I get, I’m going to try and capitalize.”

That’s what the Lions have been banking on for a bit now. The Lions drafted Hockenson with the No. 8 overall pick last year hoping he would blossom into a Pro Bowler. Picking a tight end so high is a rarity and the position, well, it takes time for it to adjust from colleges to the NFL.

Yet what Hockenson has been doing in his second year in the league is starting to mirror what Detroit had hoped for. Last month, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said he needed to see more consistency from Hockenson from play-to-play, from day-to-day.

Since then, Hockenson responded with two productive Sundays -- five catches for 59 yards and the game-tying touchdown against Atlanta and seven catches for 65 yards against Indianapolis.

“My routes have been cleaner the past few weeks, just coming in-and-out of releases, getting some separation, especially this last week, just doing that kind of stuff, you know,” Hockenson said. “But I’m starting to feel a little bit more comfortable in routes, in seeing the coverages, in seeing defenses like that and just being able to get open.”

Hockenson’s improved production has been clear, as has how often Matthew Stafford has looked to him. In two of the past three weeks, Hockenson has been targeted on 30 percent or more of his routes. In the last four weeks, he’s improved his reception-per-route percentage each week, including a season-best 21.9 percent against Indianapolis.

Hockenson is third on the Lions in targets per route, behind only D’Andre Swift and Golladay, and second in receptions per route, behind just Swift.

His separation also has skyrocketed. According to Next Gen Stats, his separation from defenders when the pass arrives went from 2.31 yards against Arizona and 2.4 yards against New Orleans to 4.92 yards against Atlanta and 4.28 yards against Indianapolis.

"Two weeks ago I kind of challenged him a little bit, just in terms of gaining separation," Bevell said. "But I see a guy that's improving each and every day. A guy that it's super important to. He really is trying to be on his details, trying to do the things we're asking him to do and I think it's starting to show up."

It means he’s getting open -- something that doesn’t always happen with pass-catchers in the Detroit offense. He’s behind just Swift among qualifying Lions pass-catchers in separation -- and Swift has some advantage because he’s usually coming out of the backfield.

But he’s gotten more space than Amendola (3.41), Jones (2.28) and Golladay (1.76). He’s seen more targets than all of them, too.

And if Golladay is out for any period of time, figure Hockenson to keep getting that attention from Stafford and the breakout that’s been on the precipice of coming might just arrive.