Injuries and suspensions have threatened to derail the Minnesota Vikings’ season early. As we approach Week 1, though, there can be a great deal of excitement for Vikings fans around the prospect of a healthy season for tight end T.J. Hockenson.
Hockenson is one of the league’s premier tight ends when on the field, and he made his return from a devastating knee injury in Week 9 last year. The elite playmaker caught 41 passes for 455 yards in the remainder of the regular season, before adding 64 yards and a touchdown in the team’s lone playoff game.
But is Hockenson ready for 2025, and will he be fully back to his best as the team looks to get off to a strong start without Jordan Addison?
Is T.J. Hockenson Healthy for Week 1 of the 2025 NFL Season?
Hockenson has had an entire offseason and preseason schedule to get back to 100%, if there were any lingering effects of the ACL and MCL tear he suffered in December 2023. Apart from a brief injury scare in early August in 2025, the tight end has fully ramped up for the season and will be asked to play a crucial role from Week 1.
Healthy TJ Hockenson is a Top 3 TE in football pic.twitter.com/t1P0kzsr1a
— 𝙆𝙖𝙨𝙚 (@verysadvikings) June 18, 2025
Since Addison’s emergence as a star, Hockenson has been the third option in the Vikings’ passing attack, providing a perfect complement to Justin Jefferson. The tight end will need to step up in the early weeks of the season, though, with Addison suspended for three games for an off-field incident in 2024.
Veteran receiver Adam Thielen, who made the opposite journey in 2023, has been acquired via a trade with the Carolina Panthers. Thielen will also be thrust into a starting role, with the team eager to provide first-year starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy with plenty of options to throw to.
Hockenson’s starring role will continue throughout the year, but his availability for the early matchups is particularly crucial.
Hockenson’s Fantasy Outlook
Hockenson is being drafted around the middle of the sixth round in fantasy football this year, and is a better value than Sam LaPorta in the early fifth. Hockenson has put up wide receiver numbers and has been a top-five tight end in each of his three healthy seasons (15+ games played).
Injuries have taken their toll, and are always a concern with the former Lions star, but few at the position offer more consistent production when on the field. Over the first three weeks, with Addison sidelined, Hockenson could realistically earn double-digit targets per game and should be a contender for the top spot at the position.
Over the whole year, Hockenson is unlikely to get the targets or the touchdowns to compete with Brock Bowers and Trey McBride, but he won’t let you down as a sixth-round pick.
