Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson (knee) was a full participant in Wednesday's practice and is fully expected to make his 2024 debut vs. the Colts on Sunday night. The question now is how much he'll play in his first game since tearing his ACL and MCL last December. HC Kevin O'Connell and OC Wes Phillips both said this week that Hockenson should be ready for something close to a full workload.
O'Connell: "I think T.J.'s ready to play. He's as good as he's really looked since we've gotten him here, and that's saying something considering the impact he made right away in '22 and then the season he was having last year at the time when he got hurt. I know he's excited. Everybody's excited to have him back out there. Huge part of our system and offense and organization."
OC Wes Phillips: "If T.J. Hockenson is out on the field, I don’t see any limitations, athletically. He’s in great shape — we understand that football shape can be a little different. We’ll evaluate him throughout the week in regard to workload."
There's obviously elevated risk to playing Hockenson in fantasy football in his first game since the multi-ligament knee injury. But if he's even close to his usual workload, he'll belong in many fantasy lineups.
In his 14 full games last year, Hockenson averaged:
He ranked second among TEs in both expected and actual PPR points per game.
Hockenson's Week 9 case is also helped by the matchup against Indianapolis' 28th-ranked TE defense.
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