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Hockenson had some success with Kyler Murray in Minnesota's 19-15 loss to Detroit, particularly down the seam; he was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing offensive performance.

Hockenson applied touchdown deodorant in Week 8 against Minnesota, scoring in a game where the Lions dominated the Vikings 19-15 in a contest where Minnesota's offense was heavily taxed.

Hockenson, the former Lion, caught a 22-yard gain from Kyler Murray to move the ball into Detroit territory at the 16-yard line. He converted a big third down on a seam throw from Murray to move into Detroit territory later in the game. He caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Murray with just under nine minutes left in regulation to make it 13-12, and Murray found him for the two-point conversion attempt that failed.

Hockenson caught a 22-yard gain down to the Detroit 16-yard line, an 8-yard touchdown pass to put the Vikings ahead 13-12, and was targeted on the two-point conversion; he was a key target for Murray in the Vikings' offensive attack.

T.J. Hockenson is TE9 in fantasy points per game and is returning to fantasy relevance after seemingly fading last season. Three of his six games played have resulted in a TE1 finish, with a fourth as a TE2. He has scored twice this season and seen four or more targets in all but one game. The Lions are especially vulnerable to tight ends, surrendering 100.3 receiving yards and 1.7 touchdowns to the position. The game features a high expected total with potential double coverage for Justin Jefferson, which could benefit Hockenson. The source recommends Hockenson as a value-priced TE1 for this slate and suggests pieces of this matchup should be in lineups for both cash and GPP contests.

Hockenson is having a resurgent season as TE9 in fantasy points per game. Among 42 qualifying tight ends, he ranks sixth in target share (18.9%), sixth in YPRR (2.14), ninth in red zone targets (six), and ninth in first-read share (19.8%). Detroit has allowed the fifth-most yards per target to tight ends, second-most fantasy points per opportunity, and most receiving touchdowns to tight ends over their last five games. The source projects Hockenson toward another TE1 week against his former team.

T.J. Hockenson is positioned for a great Week 8 game against Minnesota. The Lions' defense is historically poor at covering tight ends, allowing 29.4 fantasy points per game to the position—eight more than the next closest defense. The Lions are a major tight end funnel, giving up league-high 602 yards to tight ends, approximately 100 yards more than any other defense, with tight ends including Juwan Johnson, Noah Fant, Dalton Kincaid, Kanyon Sandick, Jeremy Ruckert, Trey McBride, and Tucker Kraft all scoring 13+ fantasy points against them. Under Kyler Murray specifically, Hockenson's target rate jumps to 0.31 targets per route run—meaning he gets a target on basically a third of his routes with Murray under center, which is above Justin Jefferson by quite a bit. His yards per route run with Murray is 2.29, and his target share ranks in the top six league-wide. Hockenson is tied with Trey McBride for the league lead in targets per route run at 0.28.

T.J. Hockenson showed what he can do earlier this season, catching 13 passes for 119 yards against the Dolphins. The Lions have been vulnerable to tight ends all year, giving Hockenson a chance at a spike week in a salary-cap-efficient build.

Hockenson is having a resurgent season as the TE9 in fantasy points per game; among 42 qualifying tight ends, he ranks sixth in target share (18.9%), sixth in YPRR (2.14), ninth in red zone targets (six), and ninth in first-read share (19.8%). The source projects him toward another TE1 week against Detroit, his former team, which has allowed the fifth-most yards per target to tight ends, the second-most fantasy points per opportunity, and the most receiving touchdowns to tight ends over their last five games.

TE T.J. Hockenson is projected to catch 8 or more passes against Detroit, which ranks last in the league in tight end defense. While Kyle Murray remains inconsistent in the intermediate and deep passing game, his short throws to Hockenson—the biggest guy on the field—can succeed in this matchup. Hockenson caught 13 passes from Murray in Week 4 and now faces a Detroit defense that's been horrible in seam coverage. Even if volume doesn't increase, Hockenson can pay off with a touchdown; Detroit has allowed a tight end to score in 5 of 6 games this year.

Hockenson is a quality start this week against a Lions defense permitting the most fantasy points to tight ends. That includes 10 touchdowns given up to the position in six games.

Hockenson is the only bright spot in Minnesota's pass-catching corps due to his 6.8-yard aDOT, which is significantly higher than the rest of the receivers. This suggests he's getting better quality opportunities despite Murray's overall inefficiency.