The Vikings’ Most Obvious Extension Candidate
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah doesn’t send out significant draft capital for a tight end unless he intended on keeping him around. When we consider that the tight end is former top-10 pick T.J. Hockenson, it becomes even clearer that a renewed commitment makes sense. He’s the Vikings’ most obvious extension candidate.
After all, why equip division rival Detroit Lions with more picks unless the plan is to look toward long-term production from the player being brought in?
T.J. Hockenson, The Vikings’ Most Obvious Extension Option
As most people will know by now, the purple finances are a bit snug. Minnesota’s GM will pursue all kinds of strategies – cuts, restructures, extensions, trades – to carve out a touch more room. Hockenson ought to be in the extension pile.
He’s heading into 2023 with a $9.329 million cap hit. An extension could create a touch below $6.6 million in extra room.
Since departing Detroit, Hockenson has been a staple in the Vikings’ offense. Justin Jefferson remained the top dog, but the tight end quickly established himself as the clear-cut #2 option in the passing game. Kirk Cousins seemed to value having such a large human to throw the football toward.
To get Hockenson into a purple uniform (as well as a 2023 4th and 2024 conditional 4th), the Vikings had to send a 2023 2nd and 2024 3rd to the suddenly competent Detroit Lions. It didn’t take long before Hockenson made himself indispensable.
In his first game with the Vikings, Hockenson had 9 catches for 70 yards. The per-catch average isn’t going to wow anyone, but the 9 catches (on 9 targets) are particularly notable given the fact that he had just arrived.
By the end of the year, the TE1 had some impressive numbers: 86 catches, 914 yards, and 6 TDs. The majority of that production arrived while playing for Minnesota: 60 catches, 519 yards, and 3 TDs.
It’s notable that his role changed with the Vikings. With Detroit, Hockenson averaged 15.2 yards per catch; with Minnesota, Hockenson averaged 8.7 yards per catch. Moving forward, the Vikings should look to target the big man down the field more frequently. He moves well for someone who is 6’5″, 248 pounds. Respond accordingly by seeing if a LB can hang with him down the seam.
The Plan for the 2023 Vikings Offense
By averaging 24.9 points per game, the Vikings ended the year as the 8th-best offense in the NFL. Much of that production came from Justin Jefferson, the WR1 in Minnesota and, indeed, in the entire NFL. Going into 2023, the Vikings need to ensure that they introduce the necessary balance to their offense so that Jefferson (and the team) can thrive.
Hockenson is going to be central to this objective. The tight end’s capacity to continue picking up oodles of catches helps to take the pressure off #18 while making the offense more unpredictable.
Having two top-tier pass catchers is a nice place to start, but more can be done. Featuring K.J. Osborn more prominently seems like a wise idea and getting more touches for the running backs could be similarly positive. In other words, just having Jefferson and Hockenson as the only two weapons would be a misguided approach.
The encouraging thing is that Minnesota’s offensive foundation is young and talented. Partnering Jefferson & Hockenson with Christian Darrisaw gives the team a really nice place to start for the next several seasons. Adding in Brian O’Neill, Ezra Cleveland, and Osborn makes things even promising.
Expect a Hockenson extension in the not-too-distant future. Locking him up allows the Vikings to position their offense for success in 2023 and beyond.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, Spotrac, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
