T.J. Hockenson News

The Giants were able to limit Justin Jefferson's (7-47-0) big-play ability by shading safety help his direction, which opened up huge holes in the middle of the field for Hockenson to feast on. It was a bittersweet finish the 2022 season for the receiving tight end, who produced new highs in receptions (86) and receiving yards (914) across 17 games between the Lions and Vikings. Hockenson thrived following the midseason trade to Minnesota -- and he remains under contract next year -- putting him in the upper echelon of tight ends heading into 2023.

Hockenson played just 33 snaps on offense as he and fellow starters were rested in the second half. He'll have a much larger role in this week's home playoff matchup against the Giants.

Minnesota is assured no worse than the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoffs regardless of how this weekend's games transpire, but since the Vikings will need a win over the Bears plus a Cardinals win over the heavily-favored 49ers to climb to the No. 2 seed, O'Connell may not have much incentive to expose key players to an injury heading into the wild-card round. While Hockenson and all of the Vikings' other starting skill-position players look poised to play at least one series, the uncertainty of whether they'll play much beyond makes it tough to rely on any in Week 18 season-long or DFS lineups.

The tight end tied K.J. Osborn for the team lead in receptions on a day when the Vikings offense mostly struggled and didn't score its first touchdown until well into the fourth quarter. Hockenson has caught at least three passes in every game since being traded to Minnesota and is just 102 receiving yards short of his first career 1,000-yard campaign, but with the team having nothing to play for in Week 18 except playoff seeding, he may not see a full workload against the Bears.

The 13 grabs were a career high for the tight end, while his 100-yard performance was his first as a Viking and the third of his career. Hockenson had just a 13-143-0 line on 23 targets over his prior three games combined and won't get to face the Giants' defense every week, but he could still be productive in Week 17 against the Packers.

Outside of catching a game-tying two-point conversion with 2:15 to play, Hockenson didn't contribute much to Minnesota's historic comeback from a 33-point halftime deficit. The tight end has been targeted at least six times in all six of his games as a member of the Vikings, and he should continue to play a prominent role in Minnesota's high-powered offense in Week 16 against the Giants.