T.J. Hockenson
Minnesota VikingsT.J. Hockenson has 31 catches, 295 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns in 7 games for the Minnesota Vikings this season through Week 8, 11.2 PPR points a game (updated November 5, 2026).
Model Score by season
Up 7.2 from last season.
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
STM Take
A top tight end still waiting for his knee to come back.
The case for
- Pro Bowl rookie, three Detroit top-20 finishes, plus the 2023 Minnesota tier 2 (#5) season on 95 catches for 960 yards confirms top-5 TE ceiling when healthy.
- Wks 13 and 15 2025 produced 11.9 and 10.6 PPR. The Kevin O'Connell offense schemes him target volume that no other Vikings TE absorbs.
The worry
- Two straight bottom-tier finishes (#31 in 2024, #26 in 2025) post-ACL is the typical recovery curve; the 2023 tier 2 ceiling has not yet returned.
- JJ McCarthy's career arc remains uncertain. Hockenson's tier 2 ceiling correlated strongly with Kirk Cousins's veteran familiarity, which McCarthy must replicate.
What to watch: Whether his 2026 target share clears 7 per game with JJ McCarthy as the starter, the threshold he needs for any return to tier 2 territory.
Full take and bio
From tier 2 #5 in 2023 to tier 7 #26 in 2025 across the two post-ACL seasons is the typical TE recovery arc; the explosive route tree has not yet returned. Wks 13 and 15 2025 produced 11.9 and 10.6 PPR, the ceiling games show the burst is partially back. At 28 he is in his prime years and the Vikings' commitment to him as the long-term TE1 is locked, but the 2026 trajectory depends on whether the knee returns to full function.
Hockenson came out of Iowa as Detroit's #8 overall pick in 2019 after winning the John Mackey Award as a sophomore. He made the Pro Bowl as a rookie and posted three top-20 STTM finishes with Detroit (#18 in 2019, #18 in 2020, #17 in 2021). Minnesota traded for him at the 2022 deadline and he reached tier 2 #5 in 2023 (95 catches, 960 yards) as Kirk Cousins's primary receiving target. A December 2023 torn ACL ended that season and the 2024 (#31) and 2025 (#26) finishes reflect ongoing recovery from the knee.
Comps
The players whose size, testing and production looked most like his at the same point in their careers. The percent is how close.
Plays like: Kellen Winslow, Timothy Wright, Jason Witten. Built like: Keith Heinrich, John Michael Gyllenborg, Dalton Keene. Coming out: Hunter Henry, Anthony Fasano, Tyler Eifert.
Of his 20 closest coming out: 5 stars, 4 starters, 7 backups, 4 didn't stick.
T.J. Hockenson Props This Weekat DET
| Market | Line | Over | Under |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receptions | 4.5 | -120 Bovada | -110 Bovada |
| Receiving yards | 42.5 | -115 Bovada | -115 Bovada |
Best price across 9 books as of Mon Nov 2. Lines move; check the book before you bet. This week's board · Line Room
Play T.J.'s numbers on Underdog · partner link
T.J. Hockenson Injury StatusNot listed
T.J. Hockenson is not on the injury report as of Nov 4. Source: the official NFL injury report, refreshed daily.
This season · 7 games
11.2 fantasy points a game, 78 PPR on the season. Every game on the Game Log, every season on Career. Advanced numbers are EPA and Next Gen Stats.
Contract2026 cap
Every year of the deal, the dead money and what a cut or trade saves on the Contract tab.
Fantasy outlookWeek 9
Our rest-of-season board has T.J. Hockenson at TE16 (the public consensus says TE15); the model has 85 PPR points left for him this season; this week he visits DET.
Price a trade for him on the fantasy trade calculator, or see the whole board on the Fantasy hub.
Draft & College
Round 1, pick 8 to the Detroit Lions in 2019, out of Iowa (Big Ten). He went about where consensus had him.
In college, 2017-2018, 26 games: 71 rec, 1,007 yds, 7 TD, 14.2 yds/rec. Coming out: 4.7s 40 yd, 17 reps bench, 37.5" vertical, 123" broad, 7.02s 3-cone, 4.18s shuttle.
Recruited
Class of 2016 · Tight end · High school: Chariton, IA
IowaHis full list of offers is not on our record yet; offers for the 2016 class are still being added.