Fantasy Football Week 3 start/sit: Lions tight end T.J. Hockenson

T.J. Hockenson has been a disappointment so far this season, but should his fantasy managers still start him in Week 3?

In Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Lions tight end T.J. Hockenson was a virtual lock for fantasy football lineups in a favorable-looking matchup. Then he delivered four catches for 38 yards.

Oh but Week 2 against the Washington Commanders was a promising matchup and a rebound opportunity, right? Hockenson finished with three catches for 26 yards.

Seven targets in each game is solid, and Hockenson is top-10 among tight ends through two weeks with those 14 total targets. It just hasn’t translated to much production.

Per Sports Info Solutions, Hockenson is also top-10 among tight ends in intended air yards (94). SIS has also “credited” him with an uncharacteristic three drops. How uncharacteristic? SIS credited him with one drop all of last season in his 12 games on 84 targets (67 catchable targets).

Fantasy Football Week 3 start or sit: T.J. Hockenson

In Week 3, Hockenson gets a matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.

Minnesota has allowed 10.2 fantasy points to opposing tight ends so far this season (12th-most in the league, Yahoo! 0.5-point PPR scoring).

In Week 1, Green Bay Packers tight ends Robert Tonyan and Josiah Deguara combined for 64 yards on five catches. In Week 2, Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert had five catches for 82 yards on six targets.

The Vikings have not allowed a touchdown to a tight end yet this season, but they have allowed the fourth-most yards to the position (149).

With the continued star turn of Amon-Ra St. Brown, Hockenson has fallen by the wayside a bit in the Lions’ offense. Fantasy managers who’ve started him both weeks to open the season might be ready to start streaming tight ends. It’s also fair to assume Hockenson is not the only tight end on the vast majority of fantasy rosters he’s on, so that other option might be looking pretty good about now.

But in a game with one of the highest over/under point totals for the week, there will be a lot of fantasy production to go around. However, Hockenson isn’t necessarily a great bet for a touchdown.

Otherwise, even with a touchdown a tough proposition, Hockenson is a fantasy start for Week 3 as a low-end TE1. It would take having a clear-cut better option to bench him, and any proverbial coin-flip should favor Hockenson in a solid matchup.

T.J. Hockenson Week 3 Projection: 5 receptions for 52 yards