Who Should I Start? T.J. Hockenson or Kyle Pitts

Friday, May 17, 9:13 PM

Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson (knee), who tore his ACL and MCL in Week 16 against the Detroit Lions last year, isn't putting a timeline on his return in 2024. "They haven't really put a timeline on it," Hockenson said. "We're just kinda taking it day by day, week by week, there's just so many variables that you can go through in this process. I'm doing really good right now. We're attacking each process. I'm attacking each one and it's been awesome, the progression has been incredible." Even if Hockenson isn't available for the Week 1 season opener this fall, he should be drafted in all fantasy leagues as a surefire, high-end TE1 when healthy, although he will be taking passes from either quarterback Sam Darnold or rookie J.J. McCarthy in 2024. In 15 games last year, Hockenson had 95 catches for 960 yards and five touchdowns.

Saturday, May 18, 1:25 PM

Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts called himself a "super rookie" as he enters the fourth year of his NFL career in 2024. "I'm not a rookie rookie. But we're all in this new offense, new regime, new schedule. We're all in this fresh," Pitts said. The former first-round pick has a new head coach in Raheem Morris, a new offensive coordinator in Zac Robinson and a new quarterback in Kirk Cousins this year. Pitts had 1,027 receiving yards in his rookie year in 2021 but suffered a season-ending knee injury in Year 2, and he wasn't 100% in 2023 despite playing in all 17 games. The 23-year-old is fully healthy now and taking part in OTAs this offense as he works to learn the new offense and gain chemistry with Cousins. Pitts could easily have his best season to date in 2024 if both he and Cousins (coming off a torn Achilles) can stay healthy.