The Vikings took their first loss of the season last week against the Lions, and they’re on a short week as they host the Rams on Thursday Night Football in Week 8. They may be getting some help for their offense, though, after T.J. Hockenson ($5,200 Showdown) was listed as questionable.
The Background
Hockenson suffered a torn ACL last year and has been on the reserve/PUP list all season. He returned to practice October 4 so the team could wait until after Thursday’s game to activate him. However, the fact that he’s questionable seems to indicate he’s trending towards returning.
Last year, Hockenson was one of the top tight ends in football with 95 catches for 960 yards and five touchdowns. That was with a different quarterback, but Sam Darnold ($9,400) has done a good job spreading the ball around and keeping multiple pass-catchers productive so far this season.
Hockenson is an option with a very high ceiling when he’s at 100%, but he may be eased back into action after such a long layoff. Once he’s back, he’ll probably draw targets away from Jalen Nailor ($6,200) and tight ends Johnny Mundt ($2,800) and Josh Oliver ($1,800).
The Bottom Line
Whether he’s activated or not, Hockenson will be a boom-or-bust fantasy play in Week 8. With no teams on a bye week, there are plenty of other fantasy options to choose from for your season-long league. Whether you should start Hockenson or not totally depends on your alternative. I’d rank him just outside my top 10 for this week but not very far outside it. If you don’t have one of those 10 players, a “swing for the fences” approach with Hockenson could pay off if he plays.
If you’re playing Thursday Night Football DFS contests like the NFL $1.5M Thursday Night Showdown [$500K to 1st] (MIN @ LAR), Hockenson is an interesting cheap play to consider, as he has a higher ceiling than any other players around the same price point.
In Thursday’s game, the Vikings are 2.5-point favorites on the road and Hockenson is +210 to score a touchdown in what could be his first game back.
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