With three top-five tight end finishes in his six-year career, a healthy T.J. Hockenson is among his position’s elite. Oh, how quickly people forget.
Hockenson tore his right ACL and MCL in December 2023, and after a long rehab process, the 27-year-old is finally nearing a return to game action. He was activated from the reserve/PUP list on October 4, has been practicing in full, and was pulled up to the active roster last week.
As Hockenson’s season debut approaches via a Week 9 date with the Indianapolis Colts, is he a start or a sit in fantasy football?
Previous seasons’ success
Since he hasn’t played since Week 16 of the 2023 season, it’s hard to anticipate exactly how Hockenson will perform in his return to the field.
However, there’s no question that he was a great player in both real life and fantasy football before the injury — in fact, he was in the midst of a career-best year. In 2023, he finished as the overall TE4 despite missing two games. During that campaign, he averaged an impressive 14.9 fantasy points per game by tallying 95 catches for 960 yards and five touchdowns. He also logged eight weekly finishes of TE8 or better.
In 2022, Hockenson’s first year as a Viking, he finished as the overall TE2 on the season with 86 receptions for 914 yards and five TDs. During that campaign, he averaged 13.1 fantasy points per game.
Fantasy outlook
The biggest concern for Hockenson moving forward will be his adjustment back to game speed after missing so much time. With that said, tight ends often rely less on athleticism and lean instead on their size and strength to win on routes. At 6-foot-5 and 248 pounds, Hock has plenty of both.
Chemistry is the other concern. Sam Darnold is now quarterbacking the Minnesota Vikings rather than Hockenson’s previous signal-caller Kirk Cousins, though Darnold does look great in head coach Kevin O’Connell’s offense. Ideally, the quarterback will develop rapport with the returning tight end as they get more reps together.
Is Hockenson a start or sit?
To be clear, Hockenson is undoubtedly among the NFL’s most talented tight ends when healthy. The Week 9 matchup with the Colts is also a nice one, with Indianapolis ranking 24th in passing yards allowed and allowing eight fantasy points per game to tight ends.
There’s some risk involved with starting a player who hasn’t taken the field in 10 months. However, Hockenson should reassume his spot atop the Vikings’ depth chart and his presence will help the team take their offense up a notch.
Even if it’s slightly risky, the lack of great tight end options combined with Hockenson’s ability make him a starting option for Week 9. Hopefully, he goes off for a big game and reminds the league how great he is — just in case they forgot.
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