We are proud to be among the first, if not the first, to publish full projections for the upcoming season, going live just days after the Super Bowl. Publishing detailed projections in early February comes with trade-offs, not the least of which is a near-total lack of clarity on how free agency, cap transactions, and the NFL draft will reshape rosters.
We've been updating our projections in near real time, including during the recent onslaught of free-agent transactions. This version will remain largely stable until we can layer in the April NFL draft, but stable projections don't mean settled debates.
We have a staff of sharp analysts with sharp takes of their own, so I thought it would be worthwhile to solicit their views on the key coin-toss situations that will shape each team's outlook in the coming months. These are important questions where reasonable, informed people can credibly land in very different places. I asked my colleagues to weigh in with one assumption: they were answering strictly through the lens of a standard 0.5-PPR redraft league.
Minnesota Vikings Coin-Toss Questions
- Is Kyler Murray a Fantasy Starter?
- How Will Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason Split Touches?
- Can T.J. Hockenson Be Fantasy-Relevant This Year?
- Will Justin Jefferson Be Elite with Murray at Quarterback?
- Is Jordan Addison a Fantasy Starter?
After back-to-back Top-4 finishes, T.J. Hockenson has fallen off a fantasy cliff the last two years. Are you willing to draft him as a TE2 this year?
Maurile Tremblay: I'd be willing to roster Hockenson as my TE2, but I wouldn't be excited about it. He barely offered streaming-level production in 2025. He is far removed from his top-4 fantasy finishes in 2022-2023. If you attribute his 2025 decline to inconsistent quarterback play, Kyler Murray's presence might give you some hope — Murray heavily targeted Zach Ertz and Trey McBride in Arizona, and Hockenson, at age 29, may have another good season left in the tank. That said, I doubt the coaching staff is scheming ways to get Hockenson more involved. I'd peg his ceiling at something like 60-65 catches for 550-650 yards and four or five touchdowns — hence my lack of excitement.
Meng Song: No. Trey McBride didn't get many red-zone targets or touchdowns with Kyler Murray under center, likely due to his inability to see well over the offensive linemen in those goal-line situations. I wouldn't bank on Hockenson producing significantly better, even if Murray is more productive overall as a passer compared to the amalgam of 2025 Vikings quarterbacks.
Andy Hicks: The last two years for Hockenson have been a product of his missing games ever since his torn ACL/MCL in December 2023. But even then, the numbers have been well short of his career peaks of 2022/2023. It is also hard to see a return to those good years, given the lack of passing talent available. Even with Sam Darnold in 2024, Hockenson wasn't the same player. He could return to prominence, but there are younger players with better upside available. He is worth a gamble as a TE2, as his upside is good enough to take the risk.
Jeff Haseley: I'm absolutely willing to draft Hockenson as a TE2. The last two years were marred by bad quarterback play and injuries. With Murray under center, the middle of the field will be wide open again. Let's not forget how effective Trey McBride was in Arizona's offense with Murray under center.