Who Should I Start? Taysom Hill or T.J. Hockenson

Thursday, June 13, 4:39 PM

The New Orleans Saints restructured tight end Taysom Hill's contract on Thursday, converting his base salary for 2024 to free up some salary cap room. Hill's cap number went from $15.7 million to $6.8 million with the move. The 33-year-old continues to be listed as a tight end for fantasy purposes, but he's apparently being involved more as a running back/fullback in new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's scheme during offseason workouts. Juwan Johnson's foot injury will also open up more pass-catching opportunities for Hill in training camp this summer as a traditional tight end. Most of Hill's production in 2023 came as a quarterback in wild-cat formations for the Saints. His versatile skill set makes him intriguing as a TE2 in fantasy, but it has been nearly impossible to predict how the Saints will use him on a weekly basis.

Monday, July 22, 2:07 PM

Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson (knee) will start training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list, according to head coach Kevin O'Connell. It's not a surprise, although O'Connell said Hockenson is "well ahead of schedule" with his rehab from ACL surgery in late January. The 27-year-old tight end tore his ACL at the end of last season and is doubtful to be ready for Week 1 of the 2024 campaign despite being ahead of scheduled this offseason. In addition to coming off a major injury, Hockenson will be more of a fantasy question mark now that he's going from quarterback Kirk Cousins to a potential mixture of Sam Darnold and rookie first-rounder J.J. McCarthy this season. Even when Hockenson does return to the field in the regular season, he's likely to be eased in, so he should be considered more of a high-end TE2 stash in fantasy football drafts this fall.