Once upon a time, T.J. Hockenson was the next breakout star at tight end. He had consistent upward trajectory over the first few years of his career. Since then, he’s fallen off considerably. Coming off his worst season since his rookie year, can Hockenson rebound into a viable fantasy football tight end in 2026?
Should You Draft TJ Hockenson in Fantasy Football?
Drafted No. 8 overall in 2019, Hockenson came from an era where rookie tight ends weren’t expected to do anything…and he didn’t. The first sign of a breakout came in his sophomore season that saw him post a 67-723-6 line, averaging 11.0 fantasy points per game.
Hockenson continued to take steps forward with each successive season. From 2019-2023, his PPG improved every single year. Then, he tore his ACL and it all came crashing down.
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Hockenson’s recovery kept him out of action for the first half of the 2024 season. When he returned, unsurprisingly, he wasn’t quite himself. Hockenson averaged just 8.7 PPG, but he did so without scoring a single touchdown. That was actually quite encouraging and resulted in fantasy managers betting on improvement in 2025. Unfortunately, JJ McCarthy happened.
It’s hard to draw many conclusions from the Vikings’ 2025 season. For the first time during Kevin O’Connell’s tenure as head coach, he couldn’t figure it out. The entire offense collapsed. Everyone on the roster underperformed. If you drafted a Viking, he failed to meet his ADP expectation.
Hockenson had his worst season since his rookie year, averaging 7.5 PPG. He was completely unrosterable in fantasy. The same guy who saw a 24.1% target share in 2023 earned just 15.6% of the targets in 2025. His aDOT was a paltry 5.0 as McCarthy could not push the ball downfield. He simply didn’t have a chance.
Name the metric and it was bad last season. Hockenson’s 1.15 yards per route run ranked 36th at the position. His 0.6 first downs per route run was 32nd. His 17.3% targets per route run rate was 35th. Hockenson couldn’t earn volume and when he did, he didn’t do much with it.
Hockenson’s Redraft Fantasy Football Value
It’s now been back to back years of Hockenson not being a viable fantasy tight end. However, each season did come with an excuse. In 2024, he was coming off the torn ACL. In 2025, everything fell apart with McCarthy and Max Brosmer throwing passes.
Kyler Murray gets a lot of criticism, much of it warranted. But he’s an NFL caliber starting quarterback and a sizable upgrade on McCarthy (even if the Trey McBride data wasn’t great last year). Minnesota’s offense may not rebound to Sam Darnold/Kirk Cousins levels, but it should rebound. The question is whether Hockenson comes along with it.
Hockenson’s ADP is TE22. He’s not being drafted in standard sized fantasy leagues. He’s purely a player to monitor in case he shows signs of life. We know Hockenson has the talent to be a TE1 because we’ve seen it before. Despite the awful 2025 metrics, it is unlikely he’s completely cooked at age 29.
With that said, Hockenson is still competing for targets with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Aaron Jones remains a capable receiving back and the team added Jauan Jennings as the WR3, who is certainly an upgrade on Jalen Nailor. I do not have a ton of faith in Murray’s ability to support three pass catchers, which leaves Hockenson as the odd man out.
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I have Hockenson at TE21, which means I am also not taking him in fantasy drafts. But I will keep an eye on his usage early in the season and be ready to make a move on the waiver wire if the signs are there.
Hockenson’s Dynasty Fantasy Football Value
Hockenson’s dynasty value has taken quite the hit over the past two seasons. He’s now down to TE21 in our consensus rankings.
This is a situation where the redraft and dynasty analyses coalesce. If Hockenson has another season like his last two, he will be a nonfactor in redraft and his dynasty value will decrease even more. If he rebounds, his dynasty value will rebound with it.
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Dynasty managers can tack on Hockenson as a throw-in on either side of a potential trade. Regardless of what happens in 2026, he’s unlikely to be a difference maker at the position ever again. Thus, even if you end up selling too low or buying too high, it’s not going to cost you.
