Should I start Makai Lemon or T.J. Hockenson in Week 8?
Updated Oct 27, 8:06 AM ET. Week 9 answers post Tuesday.
Start Makai Lemon: 79 percent of the snaps and 18 percent of the targets over their last 3 games, against T.J. Hockenson's 56 percent of the snaps and 21 percent of the targets. No market projection is posted on either of them this week, so this is a usage call, and a lower confidence one than a call made on a projection. What follows is what each of them has done.
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More fantasy football tools and rankings, all built from the same board.
Both players' season market-based projection, their usage this season and their last full season's numbers.
WR10 · PHI · bye 10
2026 vs anytime td line 1-6
- Market-based projection
- 10.0 pts a game Wk 7 price
- Overall rank
- 23
TE4 · MIN · bye 6
2026 vs anytime td line 2-4
- Market-based projection
- 10.0 pts a game
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The gap
- Board size292 draftable players
Draft data is not current for these two, so the figures that depend on it are left out. The call above comes from each player's usage.
Where the draft room stands
Live drafts hold no current pick on Makai Lemon, and the board ranks him 23rd overall on the rest of his evidence.
Live drafts hold no current pick on T.J. Hockenson, and the board ranks him 24th overall on the rest of his evidence.
The market-based projections
No season market is posted for Makai Lemon, so the only market valuing him on this page is the draft room.
T.J. Hockenson's market-based projection is 10.0 PPR points a game, built from 3 markets across 8 market sources. That is the 17th highest figure of the 177 players with a market-based projection.
This season so far
Through Week 6, Makai Lemon has been on the field for 72 percent of PHI snaps, drawn 15 percent of the targets and had 0 percent of the red zone chances.
He has taken 6 of the offence's 58 third down targets, had 0 of its 12 chances inside the five and seen 2 of its 29 two minute targets.
His 28 targets have averaged 5.2 air yards.
In Week 4 against LAR he caught 3 of 6 targets for 27 yards and did not score.
In Week 5 against JAX he caught 5 of 7 targets for 43 yards and did not score.
In Week 6 against CAR he caught 3 of 6 targets for 19 yards and did not score.
Through Week 7, T.J. Hockenson has been on the field for 60 percent of MIN snaps, drawn 21 percent of the targets and had 18 percent of the red zone chances.
He has taken 11 of the offence's 59 third down targets, had 1 of its 3 chances inside the five and seen 3 of its 14 two minute targets.
His 32 targets have averaged 6.8 air yards.
In Week 4 against MIA he caught 13 of 13 targets for 119 yards and did not score.
In Week 5 against NO he caught 1 of 1 target for 7 yards and did not score.
In Week 7 against IND he caught 4 of 5 targets for 35 yards and scored 1 touchdown.
Their 2025 seasons
Makai Lemon is a rookie, so there is no NFL season behind him to price him against.
In 2025 T.J. Hockenson played 15 games and scored 112.8 PPR points, 7.5 a game, finishing TE26.
He caught 51 of 66 targets for 438 yards and 3 touchdowns, with 11 red zone targets.
That came to 4.4 targets a game, a 77 percent catch rate and 8.6 yards a catch.
He was on the field for 79 percent of the snaps in the games he played.
Side by side
Makai Lemon is a wide receiver and T.J. Hockenson a tight end, so the question is which slot you fill first rather than which of them is better.
Byes and availability
Makai Lemon is off in Week 10 and T.J. Hockenson in Week 6, so either can cover the other's bye.
What would change the answer
Makai Lemon has no posted market, so one half of the evidence on this page exists for only one of them.
Both players in full
Week 8 on the board
- Is Makai Lemon playing Week 8?
- Is T.J. Hockenson playing Week 8?
- Eagles depth chart
- Vikings depth chart
- Week 8 WR rankings
- Week 8 TE rankings
- Week 8 fantasy rankings
- Week 8 start or sit
- Week 8 waiver wire
- Week 8 trade value chart
- Trade deadline buy low, sell high
- Fantasy football rankings
- Start 'em sit 'em Week 8
- Waiver wire pickups
- Fantasy sleepers
- Rest of season rankings
- Week 8 kicker rankings
- Week 8 defense rankings
