The Minnesota Vikings will face the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding TE T.J. Hockenson.
Is T.J. Hockenson Playing in Week 13?
Hockenson is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Vikings’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit T.J. Hockenson in Week 13?
After totaling 112 yards in his first three games of the season, T.J. Hockenson burned the Bears for 114 yards on nine targets (seven catches) in the Week 12 win. In a game that came down to the wire, I loved to see the star TE account for 60% of Minnesota’s receiving yards in the fourth quarter of a close game, and I am comfortable locking him in as a top-10 producer the rest of the way.
The late-game usage was encouraging, and so was the Vikings’ willingness to extend his routes downfield. Hockenson posted a 10.1 aDOT last week, fueling two chunk gains (20 and 34 yards), giving him access to a nice ceiling to complement his stable floor.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 13 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
T.J. Hockenson’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 13
As of 8 AM ET on Sunday morning, Hockenson is projected to score 11.9 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 5.2 receptions for 51.2 yards and 0.3 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Cardinals' Defense
The Arizona Cardinals' defense appears to be trending in the right direction, with three top-12 performances in a row and four in the last five weeks. However, during that stretch, they have faced three troubled offenses in the Chargers, Bears, and Jets, so it's hard to know whether this unit is really improving or just succeeding against bad offenses. Even the Seahawks are not exactly an elite offense.
If the Cardinals can maintain a league-average pace for the rest of the season, their offense should help them win several games. The defense's numbers for the season are not great against either the pass or the run. Additionally, they have struggled on third downs and have relied on a good red-zone defense to keep them in games.
It's an untrustworthy unit, but it's not without potential.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
T.J. Hockenson’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 10:30 AM ET on Sunday, December 1. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 13 TE PPR Rankings
1) Trey McBride | ARI (at MIN)
2) Brock Bowers | LV (at KC)
3) Travis Kelce | KC (vs. LV)
4) George Kittle | SF (at BUF)
5) David Njoku | CLE (at DEN)
6) T.J. Hockenson | MIN (vs. ARI)
7) Taysom Hill | NO (vs. LAR)
8) Evan Engram | JAX (vs. HOU)
9) Kyle Pitts | ATL (vs. LAC)
10) Dallas Goedert | PHI (at BAL)
11) Will Dissly | LAC (at ATL)
12) Jonnu Smith | MIA (at GB)
13) Hunter Henry | NE (vs. IND)
14) Cade Otton | TB (at CAR)
15) Sam LaPorta | DET (vs. CHI)
16) Tucker Kraft | GB (vs. MIA)
17) Zach Ertz | WAS (vs. TEN)
18) Mark Andrews | BAL (vs. PHI)
19) Luke Schoonmaker | DAL (vs. NYG)
20) Dawson Knox | BUF (vs. SF)
21) Mike Gesicki | CIN (vs. PIT)
22) Dalton Schultz | HOU (at JAX)
23) Pat Freiermuth | PIT (at CIN)
24) Cole Kmet | CHI (at DET)
25) Isaiah Likely | BAL (vs. PHI)
26) Chigoziem Okonkwo | TEN (at WAS)
27) Tyler Conklin | NYJ (vs. SEA)
28) Theo Johnson | MIN (vs. ARI)
29) Noah Gray | KC (vs. LV)
30) Darnell Washington | PIT (at CIN)
31) Tommy Tremble | CAR (vs. TB)
32) Austin Hooper | NE (vs. IND)
33) Juwan Johnson | NO (vs. LAR)
Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings Trends
Arizona Cardinals
Team: Three straight Cardinal games have seen a team fail to score 10 points (last week: 16-6 loss to the Seahawks).
QB: Kyler Murray was pressured on 16 dropbacks by the Seahawks last week – he completed two-of-10 passes for 29 yards with an interception in those spots.
Offense: The Cardinals were held without a red zone touchdown on Sunday in Seattle, their first such game of the season (they had eight such scores in their three games prior).
Defense: Over their past three games, Arizona has allowed points on just 25% of drives (Weeks 1-8: 50.7%).
Fantasy: Marvin Harrison Jr. has finished just two weeks as a top-45 receiver since September.
Betting: Overs were 3-1 through four weeks in Cardinal games, but they are just 1-5-1 since.
Minnesota Vikings
Team: This is Minnesota's first of three straight at home, following four of five games on the road.
QB: Over the past two weeks, Sam Darnold has turned 19 play-action passes into 306 yards, three scores, and zero interceptions.
Offense: Minnesota has averaged over 38 yards per drive in three of its past four games (it had not averaged even 34 yards per drive before).
Defense: The Vikings allowed the Bears to gain only 1.56 yards per carry after contact on Sunday (second-best showing by this defense of the season),
Fantasy: Jordan Addison scored in three of four November games, posting top-25 finishes at the position in all three of those instances.
Betting: Unders are 4-1 when the Vikings play at home this season.