Who Should I Start? Evan Engram or T.J. Hockenson

Tuesday, February 17, 4:41 AM

Denver Broncos tight end Evan Engram had a frustrating 2025 season, failing to live up to preseason expectations. Engram signed with the Broncos after three years in Jacksonville. He had been a top-five fantasy tight end in two of his three years with the Jaguars, and the one exception was his injury-shortened 2024 campaign. Fantasy managers had high hopes for Engram in Denver, where he could have played the "joker" role in Sean Payton's offense. Instead, he was held to just 4.75 targets per contest, and he finished the year with just one touchdown. These subpar stats resulted in Engram ranking as the overall TE29 in PPR leagues, which was the lowest single-season mark of his career (minimum 10 games played). It doesn't seem like this year was a fluke, either. Engram truly just struggled to get on the field, playing fewer than 50% of the offensive snaps in 13 of his 16 contests. Barring a major scheme change this offseason, we can expect a similar pattern for Engram in 2026. He's a risky redraft option in next summer's drafts. Meanwhile, dynasty managers might want to trade Engram while they still can, capitalizing on any name value he has left.

Thursday, February 12, 8:02 AM

Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson had an underwhelming season as the team endured poor quarterback play and inconsistency at the position. Hockenson played 15 games in 2025, starting all of them. He caught 51 passes for 438 yards and three touchdowns, posting the lowest receiving yards total and fantasy points per game mark since he was a rookie. He ultimately finished as the overall TE26 in full-PPR leagues. Although it's fair to blame the trio of J.J. McCarthy, Carson Wentz, and Max Brosmer for Hockenson's frustrating year, that doesn't mean he'll magically bounce back in 2026. McCarthy is due back as the Vikings' quarterback next season. Interestingly, Hockenson also struggled with Sam Darnold as his quarterback in 2024, so he really hasn't been a trustworthy fantasy tight end since Kirk Cousins quarterbacked the Vikings in 2023. Hockenson is under contract for two more years, but the Vikings have a potential out this offseason. If Minnesota releases Hockenson post-June 1, they would create $15.96 million in cap space while taking on $5.34 million in dead money. It certainly wouldn't hurt the Vikings to keep the veteran tight end to help support McCarthy's development, but we also wouldn't be surprised to see the team's next general manager capitalize on this opportunity to create cap space.