T.J. Hockenson goes 3/29 in win over Bears

Hockenson was slammed into the ground on his first catch of the day. He got up slowly and was immediately checked out by the medical staff. Hockenson was eventually evaluated for a concussion and ruled out. With a bye week on deck for Week 6, Hockenson should be able to return for the team’s next game.

With just over two minutes left in the game, Hockenson took a knee at the Dolphins’ five-yard line, allowing Kyler Murray to seal the game with a trio of kneel-downs after that. Although Hockenson surrendered the touchdown, he still delivered a TE1-worthy stat line on the day. The veteran tight end served as Murray’s go-to receiver, regularly nabbing passes on short-to-intermediate slants and curls. Hockenson mostly dove forward for a couple of extra yards after catching passes, but he did manage to drag a defender on a 14-yard gain early in the fourth quarter. The Dolphins’ pass rush was very effective today, and Murray seemed to hone in on Hockenson as his primary pressure fix as the game progressed. Hockenson will be a borderline TE1/2 against the Saints in Week 5.

Running a route on 29 of the team’s 37 drop backs, Hockenson was uninvolved in the offense even after Justin Jefferson exited the game with an ankle injury in the first half. Hockenson, who has nine grabs over the Vikings’ first three games, profiles as a low-floor weekly option in a Minnesota offense that has not passed at its usual volume early in the season.

Hockenson finished second on the team in targets, though his 17 percent target share isn’t much to write home about. He found paydirt late in the third quarter on a red zone strike from Carson Wentz over the middle of the field. Wentz was filling in for a concussed Kyler Murray, who will likely miss Week 2. Hockenson is more of a TE2 than a true TE1, but his strong Week 1 outing at least puts him on the border versus the Bears next week.

The move saves $5 million against the cap for the Vikings in 2026, a franchise that is now scrambling to get under the salary cap following numerous high profile moves made the year prior. Hockenson is coming off the worst statistical season of his career following a devastating knee injury suffered in 2024. Now two years removed from the injury and playing with something to prove, the fantasy needle could be pointing up should he find more consistent quarterback play moving forward.

With Jordan Addison taking a major leap in 2024, Hockenson has slid into an uninteresting low-end TE1 stab over the past two years, generating 41/455/0 in 2024 and 51/438/3 in 2025. Cutting Hockenson would free up over $8.9 million in cap space for a team that’s currently up against it to get cap-compliant and The Athletic’s Alec Lewis pointed to Hockenson as one contract that could be reworked this offseason. His future with the Vikings is in some question entering 2026.

Hockenson sat out in Week 17 against the Lions and he appears likely to sit out this week as well. Hockenson’s backup, TE Josh Oliver, should not be in re-draft lineups against the Packers even if Hockenson cannot play this week.

Hockenson missed Week 17 with the shoulder issue and looks likely to sit out of Minnesota’s season finale. Josh Oliver and Ben Sims each caught exactly one pass in his absence last week. There isn’t a fantasy tight end of note on the team if Hockenson is out for Week 18.

Hockenson got banged up versus the Giants last week and was unable to practice once before being ruled out for Week 17. With one week left to go, it’s possible his season is over. Max Brosmer is under center for the Vikings this week. We don’t expect him to make any of the Vikings’ backup tight ends relevant for fantasy purposes tomorrow.

You don’t need to wait for the rule out on Wednesday — with Max Brosmer under center, it’s a run-don’t-walk to the waiver wire to replace Hockenson in your Week 17 lineup. If you somehow made it to the championship with Hockenson in your lineup, we’re impressed.