Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or T.J. Hockenson

Thursday, November 21, 6:12 PM

The New England Patriots removed tight end Austin Hooper (neck) from the Week 12 injury report on Thursday, which means he was a full practice participant. Hooper was limited in Wednesday's session but is now ready to roll for a divisional clash this Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium against the Miami Dolphins. The 30-year-old veteran has become more intriguing as a TE2 sleeper play in deeper leagues and DFS contests now that rookie quarterback Drake Maye is leading the offense. However, the fantasy ceiling and floor remain pretty low as he works behind Hunter Henry. Most of Hooper's production has come in the last two games, as he's caught seven of his eight targets for 99 yards and no touchdowns. Hooper's lone score of the season came back in the loss to the San Francisco 49ers back on Sept. 29. He should be on the waiver wire in most fantasy leagues.

Friday, November 22, 3:36 PM

Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson said he "would expect things to go up" in Week 12 against the division-rival Chicago Bears and for the rest of the season in terms of his offensive snaps. Fellow TE Josh Oliver (ankle) has already been ruled out, so Hockenson should be on the field more in his fourth game of the season on Sunday. The 27-year-old has seen his snap percentages slowly increase since Week 9, as he played 45% of the snaps in Week 9, 46% in Week 10 and 48% last week. While Hockenson hasn't been amazing in his first three games, he hasn't been invisible, either, catching 13 of his 16 targets for 112 yards, including an eight-catch, 72-yard performance in the Week 10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Bears defense isn't an ideal matchup, but Hockenson should have a higher fantasy ceiling and floor as at least a low-end TE1 this weekend.