FANTASY FOOTBALL NEWS

Vikings Expect T.J. Hockenson Back In First Half Of Season

By Jared Smola | Updated on Fri, Aug 9 2024 3:11 PM UTC

The Vikings expect TE T.J. Hockenson (knee) to make his 2024 debut sometime in the first half of the season, according to ESPN's Dan Graziano. Hockenson is working back from ACL and MCL tears suffered on December 24. "The estimates I heard in my reporting ranged from three to seven missed games," Graziano adds. "The latter of those would keep him out until early November, as the Vikings have a bye in Week 6.

2024 Fantasy Football Impact

We've had Hockenson projected right in the middle of Graziano's range all offseason, missing the first five games of the season and returning after Minnesota's Week 6 bye. We're sticking with that projection, which would have Hockenson returning a little less than 10 months after that multi-ligament knee injury.

It'll likely be another week or two beyond Hockenson's return before we can trust him in fantasy lineups. Drafters should not be counting on him contributing until the second half of the season. And even then, Hockenson will be working with a new QB with a likely deflated pass rate.

Projected ADP Movement

Hockenson's ADP has fluctuated from the mid-10th to mid-11th round over the last two months. We don't expect it to move from that range until we learn whether Hockenson will open the season on the PUP list. If he does, he'll miss at least the first four games.

Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and My Team tools. He currently ranks 1st among 133 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.