Start T.J. Hockenson or Brenton Strange? Week 8

Our Week 8 call

Start T.J. Hockenson over Brenton Strange in Week 8.

Market-based projections have T.J. Hockenson at 9.9 points and Brenton Strange at 8.6, a gap of 1.4. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Brenton Strange this week yet, so his 8.6 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5 and 6 (8.3 and 8.8); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. Drafters take T.J. Hockenson at ADP 224 and Brenton Strange at 202.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 9.9 fantasy points for T.J. Hockenson, with 100 percent of the markets a TE needs posted.

The market-based projection for T.J. Hockenson is 37 receiving yards, 4-5 receptions and 0.3 touchdowns (10, 8 and 12 market sources).

No Week 8 player market is posted for Brenton Strange yet. His market-based projections were 8.3 and 8.8 points in Weeks 5 and 6, an average of 8.6, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for Brenton Strange is 0.4 touchdowns (7 market sources).

That puts T.J. Hockenson 1.4 points ahead of Brenton Strange on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

T.J. Hockenson and MIN visit DET on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

DET allowed 29.4 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 6 games, the most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 100 yards and 1.7 touchdowns a game against DET.

Brenton Strange and JAX host IND on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

IND allowed 13.7 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 7 games, the 13th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 45 yards and 0.7 touchdowns a game against IND.

By points allowed to the position, T.J. Hockenson has the softer matchup.

Injury status

T.J. Hockenson is not on the injury report.

Brenton Strange is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, T.J. Hockenson played 63 percent of MIN snaps, drew 21 percent of the targets, earned 19 percent of the air yards and had 18 percent of the red zone chances.

T.J. Hockenson, Week 3 against TB: 50 of 59 snaps, 4 targets and 2 catches for 11 yards.

T.J. Hockenson, Week 4 against MIA: 65 of 78 snaps, 13 targets and 13 catches for 119 yards.

T.J. Hockenson, Week 5 against NO: 2 of 71 snaps, 1 target and 1 catch for 7 yards.

T.J. Hockenson, Week 7 against IND: 45 of 59 snaps, 5 targets and 4 catches for 35 yards, 1 touchdown.

Through Week 6, Brenton Strange played 79 percent of JAX snaps, drew 19 percent of the targets, earned 17 percent of the air yards and had 5 percent of the red zone chances.

Brenton Strange, Week 3 against NE: 48 of 62 snaps, 5 targets and 3 catches for 32 yards.

Brenton Strange, Week 4 against CIN: 53 of 61 snaps, 8 targets and 7 catches for 95 yards.

Brenton Strange, Week 5 against PHI: 58 of 72 snaps, 8 targets and 7 catches for 68 yards.

Brenton Strange, Week 6 against HOU: 54 of 71 snaps, 7 targets and 5 catches for 44 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, T.J. Hockenson played 15 games for MIN 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 and 224 air yards.

He was on the field for 79 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Brenton Strange played 12 games for JAX and scored 118.0 PPR points, 9.8 a game, finishing TE23.

He caught 46 of 60 targets for 540 yards and 3 touchdowns, with 9 red zone targets and 293 air yards.

He was on the field for 76 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 8 calls

• Start Brock Bowers over T.J. Hockenson.
• Start T.J. Hockenson over Cade Otton.
• Start Colston Loveland over T.J. Hockenson.
• Start Brenton Strange over Cade Otton.
• Start Colston Loveland over Brenton Strange.
• Start Dallas Goedert over Brenton Strange.