The Minnesota Vikings' career of tight end T.J. Hockenson to this point has been an even 50 games, divided evenly on each side of a torn ACL and MCL on Christmas Eve in 2023. In his first 25 games as a Viking, he had 155 receptions for 1,479 yards and eight touchdowns. In his last 25 games, he had 92 catches for 893 yards and three touchdowns.
Of course, some of that drop-off has been due to quarterback play. For most of that time, pre-knee injury, Kirk Cousins was the Vikings' quarterback. A lackluster partial season with Sam Darnold was mostly about working his way back from that knee injury. Then came last season, with being called on to help out more in pass protection and the struggles of J.J. McCarthy, which combined to crush Hockenson's production.
Hockenson was easily forecasted as an offseason cap casualty for the Vikings, but he will be back for next season via a contract restructuring that made the 2026 season the final year of his contract.
Change to Kyler Murray makes Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson interesting again in fantasy football
Of course, Hockenson's fantasy production has suffered in the wake of his injury and with the drop-off in quarterback play. As noted by Jamey Eisenberg of CBS Sports, his fantasy points per game average has dropped by roughly one-third since the knee injury.
Murray has a notable history of throwing to tight ends. After Zach Ertz arrived from the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2021 season, he was a top-five fantasy tight end across the board over 11 games as a Cardinal (Week 7-18) with 56 catches for 574 yards and three touchdowns.
In 2022, Ertz and a then-rookie named Trey McBride combined for 76 receptions for 671 yards and five touchdowns. That combined production would have been TE6 in full PPR scoring that year, as Murray suffered a torn ACL late that season.
In eight games with Murray under center in 2023, after he returned from his knee injury (Week 10-18), McBride was TE4 in full PPR as he finished his breakthrough season as a top-10 fantasy tight end.
In 2024, when Murray played all 17 games, McBride had 111 receptions for 1,147 yards and two touchdowns. He finished as the TE2 in full PPR, but with just two more touchdowns and requisite yardage, he would have finished as the TE1.
Last season was basically a throwaway for Murray, as a foot injury limited him to five games. But in those five games, McBride had 29 catches (on 42 targets) for 275 yards and a touchdown.
In any context, Hockenson is obviously not in McBride's class among NFL tight ends. But Murray's arrival puts the Vikings' top tight end on the radar of fantasy managers as a late-round draft flier. Beyond that, a rebound campaign in 2026 would be well-timed when he hits the open market next March.