TE · MIN · GWTTKB

T.J. Hockenson — fantasy football 2026

Every game, every stat category, and what the board says. 7.52 points per game in 2025, an ADP of 148.3, usage worth 8.

29 years old · 7 seasons of experience · 2019 draft class

Updated 2026-08-16 · free, no account, no paywall
Every figure below comes from our database. Where a stat is not held, the row is absent rather than zero.
ADP 148.3
Consensus across 4 books, standard deviation 18.8, 35 picks between cheapest and priciest. Cheapest on underdog, priciest on yahoo.
SLEEPER163.8
ESPN133.8
YAHOO130.3
UNDERDOG169.6
CBS165.3
FFA150

Draft-room facts

Goes aroundRound 13, pick 4 in a 12-team draft
Positional rankTE20
Bye week6
ADP standard deviation18.8 picks

What we project for 2026

Our board has him at 116.7 points, 7.7 per game — 49.1 catches, 478 yards, 3.3 TDs. That is TE4, 149 overall.

The range runs from a floor of 4.9 points per game to a ceiling of 12.1, with the median at 7.7. Boom rate 57%, bust rate 36%. The spread is the actual bet, not the middle number.

He goes at 148.3 on consensus and our board has him 149. Those agree, so there is no market disagreement to exploit. The question is whether you want the profile, not whether it is mispriced.

The offense he plays in, 2026

Minnesota Vikings returns 5 of 6 continuity slots, replacing qb1. Kyler Murray at quarterback, Kevin O'Connell as head coach, Wes Phillips calling it. The offense projects to 32.6 pass attempts a game at medium confidence and 25 rushes.

In: Kyler Murray (qb), Dontae Fleming (wr5), Dillon Bell (wr7), Desmond Claiborne (rb3). Out: Carson Wentz (qb), Jalen Nailor (wr3), Adam Thielen (wr4).

His own projected target share for 2026 is 16.6%, with a bear case of 15.4% and a bull case of 17.8% and a full range of 14.1% to 18.8%. That comes from 25 historical comparables, not from a depth chart.

The projected target split across the offense:

Justin Jefferson26.5%
Jordan Addison18.3%
TJ Hockenson 16.6%
Aaron Jones9.8%
Tai Felton7.7%
Jordan Mason5.6%

Our written view on this offense in 2026

What the offense looks like: Jefferson and Addison have all the talent in the world they & KOC is an elite coach, but this team needs to feed them. This RB room struggled last year. Difficult to say if Aaron Jones & Jordan mason regressed or if teams just focused on stopping the run to force JJ McCarthy to throw them another Pick 6. Either way, running game has to get established in 2026. Likely a committee as Aaron Jones was expected to be cut but took a pay cut to come back.

Key additions: Kyler Murray QB from Cardinals (former 1st overall pick).

Key departures: Jalen Nailor WR3 left to Raiders in free agency. Pretty solid loss that opens up a decent target

Notes: Jefferson dynasty cornerstone regardless of QB. Vikings sign Kyler Murray from Cardinals who is looking to turn around career. Kyler will compete with McCarthy for QB1 spot but JJ Nine McCarthy is BOOTY CHEEKS, so Kyler will start & could elevate offense a lot. Jefferson long term value there regardless of QB, Addison is great WR but volume still isnt there, interesting buy if can get him for cheap. Aaron Jones may phase out and took a pay cut to stay. Mason is mid. Rookie RB Claiborne COULD build out a role if he can beat out Mason. Hockenson should be better than last year but his play has declined a lot.

How the volume number was reached: New QB Kyler Murray, avg 32 att/g over 2025,2024; Regressed 42% toward league mean 33.5, floored at 30 → 32.6 att/g.

How that share projection was built

25 historical comps for TEs age ~28, prior share 17.7%, same team, OC continuity, QB change. Distribution: median 15.5%, p25-p75 [13.2%, 19.1%], tails [10.0%, 21.4%]. Closest comps: Logan Thomas 2022→2023 (WAS: 17.0%→13.1%); Cole Kmet 2022→2023 (CHI: 17.1%→21.2%); Tyler Conklin 2023→2024 (NYJ: 15.1%→12.5%). Adjustment: +4% from hidden_breakout (skill jumped, production setup)

self-anchored 58% to own 17.7% role (3yr), 42% to comp median 15.5%

The named comps are the closest historical matches and the arrow is what their share actually did the following season. That is the working, not a summary of it — if you disagree with the projection, this is the part to argue with.

Offensive environment: MIN rates 22.2 against a league average of 23, 0.8 below it on opponent-adjusted least squares (multi-capture merge).

2026 schedule

Opponent-adjusted pass defense faced, against 2025 ratings. Positive is an easier slate.

Full season+2.7 · easier
Weeks 1–6+3.1 · easier
Weeks 12–17+3.6 · easier
Fantasy playoffs (15–17)+12.3 · easier

Read this narrowly. Our own testing found that season-long strength of schedule does not survive as a draft input — defensive quality is among the least stable team properties year to year, and a preseason slate is built on last year's identities. The playoff-weeks column is the only one we would let break a tie, and even then it is a tiebreaker rather than a reason. The finding.

What happened when he missed time

From the absence record rather than a depth chart — who actually gained when he was out.

SeasonGames missedMain beneficiaryTheir PPR gain
20252Ben Yurosek+1.6
Read the full T.J. Hockenson study →

Dynasty context not redraft

Everything in this section is about his dynasty trade value — what he is worth as a long-term asset in the trade market. It is not a forecast of his 2026 fantasy scoring. A player can be a fine redraft pick while his dynasty value falls, and the reverse. The redraft read is above; this is a different question with a different answer.

Where he sits in the dynasty value cycle

His dynasty value has moved -21.3% over the last twelve months. The market cycle classifies him as stable.

For context on how long this lasts at the position: the average career at his position produces 1.3 elite seasons and 2.3 startable seasons.

The five most similar seasons, and what their dynasty value did next

Matched on production profile — production-driven (pedigree ignored). The last column is how that player’s dynasty value moved the following year — a market outcome, not a scoring one.

PlayerSeasonTheir PPGSimilarityNext year
Hunter Henry20239.263%+42.6%
Dallas Goedert202410.462%+6.7%
Evan Engram202210.458%+31%
Dallas Goedert20239.757%-8.7%
Hunter Henry20226.556%+24.2%

Of the 5 with a following season on record, 4 gained value, 1 lost it and 0 held roughly flat.

Four years of dynasty value

02,0004,0006,000202120222023202420252026
Monthly superflex value, 2020-04 to 2026-07. Down 35% across the series, peaking at 6,028.

The player

Draft capital and athletic profile

Drafted2019, round 1, pick 8 by DET
CollegeIowa
Age at draft22
Height6′5″
Weight251 lb
40-yard dash4.7s
Vertical37.5″
Broad jump123″
3-cone7.02s
Shuttle4.18s

Availability and volatility

Career PPR per game11.2
Week-to-week variation0.6
Boom rate11.9%
Bust rate19.4%
Games missed per season0.7
Injury historyHand, Knee, Shoulder
Correlation between his posted line and his actual score0.22

That correlation is how closely the books’ posted line tracked what he actually scored, week to week. A higher number means the market has him figured out and there is less to exploit; a lower one means his weeks are harder to price.

Injury type matters more than games missed. Measured across our injury database, knee and foot returns stay below a player’s pre-injury baseline for all three of the first games back, while hamstring returns over-recover by the third.

The record, season by season

2025 · MIN · 15 games

His best game was Week 3 against CIN — 15.9 PPR on 6 targets and a 25% target share, in a game that finished 48-10. His worst was Week 16 against NYG at 1.2, on 1 targets, final score 16-13. Across 15 games he cleared 20 points 0 times and came in under 8 points 8 times. In the 9 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 7; in the 6 decided by more, 8.3. He scored more when the game was not close.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 8 points per game. He scored 7.52, 5.8% below it. The engine classified the season as neutral.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1CHI27-244.53415020%80%
2ATL6-222.21312014.3%72%
3CIN48-1015.95649125%68%
4PIT21-247.94539011.9%93%
5CLE21-179.86638017.6%85%
7PHI22-2810.36943022.5%83%
8LAC10-374.62326010%82%
9DET27-249.12311113%77%
10BAL19-272.822804.9%91%
11CHI17-196.93639018.8%80%
12GB6-235.94419022.2%68%
13SEA0-2611.96659020.7%79%
14WAS31-09.22312113%56%
15DAL34-2610.64566020.8%80%
16NYG16-131.211204.3%75%

Production

Receptions51
Targets66
Receiving yards438
Carries1
Touchdowns3
Points per game7.52
Yards per target6.64
Catch rate77.27%

Role

Snap share77.93%
Target share15.93%
Air-yards share10.19%
WOPR0.311
RACR1.67

Efficiency

Average depth of target5.2
Yards after catch per reception4.3
Yards before catch per reception4.3
Total YAC219
Broken tackles2
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted109.3
Receiving EPA per game0.94
Rushing EPA per game-0.07

Scoring position

Red-zone targets11
Red-zone target share15.1%
End-zone target share12.5%
Red-zone carry share1.8%
Expected receiving TDs2.49
Actual receiving TDs3
Receiving TD luck0.51
Expected rushing TDs0.05

Who else ate

The offense threw it 484 times. He took 14.16% of the targets. 2 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Justin Jefferson30.26%
Jordan Addison16.95%
T.J. Hockenson 14.16%
Jalen Nailor11.37%
Aaron Jones8.8%
Josh Oliver4.08%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 3 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
J.J. McCarthy9315.825.9414.59%
Carson Wentz5299.76.7217.4%
Max Brosmer1611.99.8320.7%

Blowouts against close games

5 of his 15 games were blowouts, 42.1% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 9.5 in those and 7.01 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

2024 · MIN · 10 games

His best game was Week 12 against CHI — 18.4 PPR on 9 targets and a 28.1% target share, in a game that finished 30-27. His worst was Week 18 against DET at 2.9, on 8 targets, final score 9-31. Across 10 games he cleared 20 points 0 times and came in under 8 points 5 times. In the 6 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 10.3; in the 4 decided by more, 6.2. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 10.8 points per game. He scored 8.65, 12.4% below it. The engine classified the season as unlucky. On receiving touchdowns specifically he finished 0 against 1.6 expected, a gap of -1.6.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
9IND21-135.73427012.1%45%
10JAX12-715.28972024.3%46%
11TEN23-133.32313010%48%
12CHI30-2718.479114028.1%68%
13ARI23-225.83628020%64%
14ATL42-218.54545017.9%62%
15CHI30-1210.25752018.9%65%
16SEA27-244.72527014.3%70%
17GB27-2511.85668014.6%69%
18DET9-312.9289021.1%78%

Production

Receptions41
Targets62
Receiving yards455
Touchdowns0
Points per game8.65
Yards per target7.34
Catch rate66.13%

Role

Snap share61.5%
Target share18.13%
Air-yards share17.85%
WOPR0.397
RACR0.921

Efficiency

Average depth of target8.4
Yards after catch per reception3.5
Yards before catch per reception7.6
Total YAC145
Broken tackles1
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted74.3
Receiving EPA per game0.95

Scoring position

Red-zone targets9
Red-zone target share9.7%
End-zone target share8.3%
Expected receiving TDs1.6
Actual receiving TDs0
Receiving TD luck-1.6

Who else ate

The offense threw it 548 times. He took 12.13% of the targets. 2 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Justin Jefferson30.14%
Jordan Addison19.37%
Aaron Jones12.13%
T.J. Hockenson 12.13%
Jalen Nailor8.22%
Josh Oliver5.48%

Blowouts against close games

3 of his 10 games were blowouts, 25% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 7.2 in those and 10.27 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

2023 · MIN · 15 games

His best game was Week 10 against NO — 30.4 PPR on 15 targets and a 46.9% target share, in a game that finished 27-19. His worst was Week 4 against CAR at 4.4, on 3 targets, final score 21-13. Across 15 games he cleared 20 points 3 times and came in under 8 points 1 time.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 14.6 points per game. He scored 14.6, 0.3% below it. The engine classified the season as neutral.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1TB17-2011.58935020.5%75%
2PHI28-3425.67866218.6%86%
3LAC24-2813.881178022.9%89%
4CAR21-134.42324016.7%88%
5KC20-2710.15851017.4%79%
6CHI19-13116850026.7%79%
7SF22-1719.6111286027.9%84%
8GB24-1020.86988126.5%85%
9ATL31-2813.971269034.3%84%
10NO27-1930.41115134146.9%63%
11DEN20-219.54755024.1%70%
12CHI10-12165650120%80%
14LV3-010.35853024.2%93%
15CIN24-2712.36763021.9%87%
16DET24-309.84458011.4%44%

Production

Receptions95
Targets127
Receiving yards960
Touchdowns5
Points per game14.6
Yards per target7.56
Catch rate74.8%

Role

Snap share79.07%
Target share24%
Air-yards share24.43%
WOPR0.53
RACR1.152

Efficiency

Average depth of target7.7
Yards after catch per reception3.5
Yards before catch per reception6.6
Total YAC336
Broken tackles4
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted105.8
Receiving EPA per game2.12

Scoring position

Red-zone targets14
Red-zone target share16.3%
End-zone target share13.5%
Expected receiving TDs4.04
Actual receiving TDs4
Receiving TD luck-0.04

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game2 of 14
Yards per target5 of 14
Target share1 of 14
Air-yards share2 of 14

Who else ate

The offense threw it 631 times. He took 21.27% of the targets. 2 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

T.J. Hockenson 21.27%
Jordan Addison18.09%
Justin Jefferson16.75%
K.J. Osborn12.56%
Brandon Powell7.37%
Alexander Mattison7.37%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 3 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Kirk Cousins86814.67.0322.15%
Joshua Dobbs54816.027.5229.9%
Nick Mullens21111.051116.65%

2022 · DET · 17 games

His best game was Week 4 against SEA — 39.9 PPR on 12 targets and a 30.8% target share, in a game that finished 45-48. His worst was Week 5 against NE at 1.6, on 4 targets, final score 0-29. Across 17 games he cleared 20 points 2 times and came in under 8 points 5 times. In the 10 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 16.4; in the 7 decided by more, 7.7. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 13.6 points per game. He scored 12.79, 2.7% below it. The engine classified the season as neutral.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1PHI35-387.84738018.9%91%
2WAS36-275.63726020.6%89%
3MIN24-2810.83418110.8%76%
4SEA45-4839.9812179230.8%88%
5NE0-291.6146012.9%85%
7DAL6-248.84548020%83%
8MIA27-31113480010.8%87%
9WAS20-17169970023.1%91%
10BUF33-3011.571045020%93%
11DAL3-408.45934032.1%77%
12NE33-2615.35643116.2%80%
13NYJ27-227.34633018.2%90%
14DET23-3413.76877020%95%
15IND39-368.33933016.7%94%
16NYG27-2435.91316109234%90%
17GB17-4112.971259034.3%81%
18CHI29-132.6111603.1%46%

Production

Receptions86
Targets129
Receiving yards914
Touchdowns6
Points per game12.79
Yards per target7.09
Catch rate66.67%

Role

Snap share84.47%
Target share20.15%
Air-yards share18.18%
WOPR0.429
RACR1.141

Efficiency

Average depth of target7.5
Yards after catch per reception4.7
Yards before catch per reception5.9
Total YAC403
Broken tackles7
Drop rate0.1%
Passer rating when targeted89.7
Receiving EPA per game0.32

Scoring position

Red-zone targets21
Red-zone target share18.6%
End-zone target share24.3%
Expected receiving TDs4.84
Actual receiving TDs5
Receiving TD luck0.16

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game3 of 11
Yards per target7 of 11
Target share5 of 11
Air-yards share5 of 11

Who else ate

The offense threw it 587 times. He took 7.72% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

Amon-Ra St. Brown26.21%
D'Andre Swift12.57%
Kalif Raymond11.49%
Josh Reynolds10.59%
D.J. Chark9.34%
T.J. Hockenson 7.72%

Blowouts against close games

4 of his 17 games were blowouts, 14.6% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 7.93 in those and 16.38 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

2021 · DET · 12 games

His best game was Week 1 against SF — 25.7 PPR on 11 targets and a 19.6% target share, in a game that finished 33-41. His worst was Week 10 against PIT at 0, on 1 targets, final score 16-16. Across 12 games he cleared 20 points 2 times and came in under 8 points 3 times. In the 7 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 10.2; in the 5 decided by more, 14.8. He scored more when the game was not close.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 12.2 points per game. He scored 12.11, 0.9% below it. The engine classified the season as neutral. On receiving touchdowns specifically he finished 4 against 2 expected, a gap of 2.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1SF33-4125.781197119.6%85%
2GB17-3520.68966125.7%93%
3BAL17-193221007.1%84%
4CHI14-248.24842021.6%82%
5MIN17-194.2232209.7%81%
6CIN11-3415.481174028.2%83%
7LA19-2810.86948028.1%80%
8PHI6-4418.9101189034.4%76%
10PIT16-16001004.2%94%
11CLE10-1311.16851034.8%88%
12CHI14-1612.53335112%76%
13MIN29-2714.94849121.1%85%

Production

Receptions61
Targets84
Receiving yards583
Touchdowns4
Points per game12.11
Yards per target6.94
Catch rate72.62%

Role

Snap share83.92%
Target share20.54%
Air-yards share23.27%
WOPR0.469
RACR0.91

Efficiency

Average depth of target7.4
Yards after catch per reception3.3
Yards before catch per reception6.3
Total YAC199
Broken tackles4
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted92.5
Receiving EPA per game0.45

Scoring position

Red-zone targets10
Red-zone target share15.2%
End-zone target share21.1%
Expected receiving TDs2
Actual receiving TDs4
Receiving TD luck2

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game7 of 15
Yards per target10 of 15
Target share5 of 15
Air-yards share4 of 15

Who else ate

The offense threw it 590 times. He took 15.16% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

Amon-Ra St. Brown21.48%
T.J. Hockenson 15.16%
D'Andre Swift14.08%
Kalif Raymond12.82%
Josh Reynolds6.5%
Jamaal Williams5.05%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 2 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Jared Goff117612.2719.25%
Tim Boyle1811.16.3834.8%

Blowouts against close games

3 of his 12 games were blowouts, 37.8% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 18.3 in those and 10.2 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

2020 · DET · 16 games

His best game was Week 7 against ATL — 16.9 PPR on 6 targets and a 18.8% target share, in a game that finished 23-22. His worst was Week 15 against TEN at 1.8, on 4 targets, final score 25-46. Across 16 games he cleared 20 points 0 times and came in under 8 points 4 times. In the 8 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 11.8; in the 8 decided by more, 10.1. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 11.2 points per game. He scored 10.96, 1.8% below it. The engine classified the season as neutral.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1CHI23-2716.65556112.2%64%
2GB21-4210.24462013.3%69%
3ARI26-239.34753022.6%82%
4NO29-3510.9249113.3%75%
6JAX34-169.72517116.1%60%
7ATL23-2216.95659118.8%74%
8IND21-4113.571065025%74%
9MIN20-3414.95839118.2%76%
10WAS30-273.32413012.5%66%
11CAR0-2010.84768021.9%66%
12HOU25-4113.95889019%73%
13CHI34-3015.47984022%78%
14GB24-3116.361143128.9%84%
15TEN25-461.82418010.8%80%
16TB7-476.34623020%87%
17MIN35-375.5332509.7%67%

Production

Receptions67
Targets101
Receiving yards723
Carries1
Touchdowns6
Points per game10.96
Yards per target7.16
Catch rate66.34%

Role

Snap share73.44%
Target share17.77%
Air-yards share15.28%
WOPR0.373
RACR1.147

Efficiency

Average depth of target7
Yards after catch per reception4.9
Yards before catch per reception5.9
Total YAC329
Broken tackles4
Drop rate0.1%
Passer rating when targeted90.5
Receiving EPA per game0.62
Rushing EPA per game-0.31

Scoring position

Red-zone targets17
Red-zone target share23%
End-zone target share31%
Expected receiving TDs5.53
Actual receiving TDs6
Receiving TD luck0.47

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game5 of 12
Yards per target6 of 12
Target share8 of 12
Air-yards share10 of 12

Who else ate

The offense threw it 582 times. He took 18.1% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

Marvin Jones20.61%
T.J. Hockenson 18.1%
Danny Amendola12.37%
D'Andre Swift10.22%
Quintez Cephus6.27%
Kenny Golladay5.73%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 2 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Matthew Stafford159511.277.3717.62%
Chase Daniel166.33.8320%

Blowouts against close games

6 of his 16 games were blowouts, 29.8% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 8.72 in those and 11.78 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

Ask the Coach about T.J. Hockenson →
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