Josh

Oliver

Oliver missed a pair of games with the ankle issue and had the wrist injury added to his report more recently. A full practice puts him on track to return in Week 14. With T.J. Hockenson over a month removed from his 2024 debut, Oliver’s return shouldn’t affect his target volume.

Oliver missed last week with the ankle issue, though the wrist is a new addition to his report. T.J. Hockenson ran a season-high 84 percent of the Vikings’ routes with Oliver out last week. He caught seven balls for 114 yards. You were starting Hockenson no matter what, but the Oliver absence should keep the veteran tight end’s route rate high.

Oliver was ruled out on Friday with an ankle injury. His absence will clear the way for T.J. Hockenson’s role to grow in his fourth game back from his 2023 torn ACL. Johnny Mundt should also see a few extra snaps with Oliver out.

Oliver doesn’t have standalone fantasy value, but he was splitting reps with T.J. Hockenson, who just returned from the torn ACL he suffered late in the 2023 season. Oliver’s absence may force the Vikings to deploy Hockenson in a full-time role, giving him TE1 upside for Week 12.

Hockenson played about half of the team’s offensive snaps through three quarters but gave way to Josh Oliver for most of the final frame, with the latter catching a touchdown with just over two minutes left to play. Hockenson should continue to see his snap rate increase as he works his way back into game shape following a torn ACL suffered late in 2023.

You don’t need to roster him. Josh Oliver went catchless. The Vikings are on bye next week, and Mundt will be working on his blocking rather than his receiving.

Mundt ran a route on 26 of Sam Darnold’s 31 drop backs, taking over the pass-catching role after splitting duties with Josh Oliver in Week 1 against the Giants. Oliver logged just eight routes in Week 2. Until TJ Hockenson returns from injury, it appears Mundt is the Vikings’ primary pass-catching tight end.

O’Connell stopped short of declaring an expected return-to-play date before saying the team wants Tonyan to “take part” in preseason play. Vikings coaches were undoubtedly hoping one of their veteran tight ends would establish himself as an early-season replacement for recovering starter T.J. Hockenson (ACL and MCL). Tonyan’s back issue leaves the team with Josh Oliver and Johnny Mundt for now. Both players respectably averaged 1.50 yards per route run last year while earning 18.0-plus-percent target rates. The competition’s winner could have streaming viability in September.

The story isn’t Hockenson landing on the PUP list; that was always expected, given the significance of his injury and that it occurred in Week 16. The real story is his recovery. Head coach Kevin O’Connell said Hockenson is “well ahead of schedule” in his recovery and that he’s hit several recovery benchmarks throughout his rehab. In his first full season with the Vikings, Hockenson turned in a career year, catching 95 passes for 960 yards and five touchdowns. He finished as the overall TE2 in fantasy points per game (14.7) in PPR leagues and should have plenty of big fantasy performances in store once healthy. There’s a good chance Hockenson misses a chunk of games to begin the season as he continues his recovery, but it sounds as if things are progressing in the right direction. Tight ends Josh Oliver and Robert Tonyan are expected to compete for starting snaps in training camp.

Hockenson suffered a torn ACL and MCL in last year’s Week 16 loss to the Lions. The veteran tight end said he and the team are “taking it day by day, week by week” and noted that there are “so many variables” that one can go through during the rehab process. Hockenson also added he’s “doing really good right now,” which is an encouraging sign for the Vikings and fantasy managers. Still, the late timing of his injury could result in him missing time early in the season as he continues his recovery. The Vikings have Josh Oliver and Johnny Mundt both on the roster and also signed Robert Tonyan to a contract earlier this week. If they don’t feel like Hockenson is ready to go, they have the players in place to wait out his recovery should it continue into the regular season.