What It Means:

The Lions also sent over a 2023 fourth-round pick and a 2024 conditional fourth-round pick in the trade. Hockenson should immeditaely take over as the Vikings' starting tight end in place of Irv Smith Jr. (ankle), but he may not average as many targets as he was in the Lions' offense (6.1 per game). Hockenson's departure from Detroit is an upgrade for Josh Reynolds in terms of target share and a downgrade for Jared Goff. On the other side of things, Kirk Cousins gets a boost while Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn will likely take a hit. Smith is expected to miss 8-10 weeks, which essentially ends his season. Hockenson should be available to make his Vikings debut in Week 9 against the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

Hock was second on the Lions this season with an 18.1% target share, just ahead of Reynolds (17.3%). Our models currently project him for 5.1 targets in Week 9, which is fourth on the Vikings behind Justin Jefferson (10.9), Thielen (7.3), and Osborn (5.5). The Commanders are allowing the second-fewest FanDuel points per game to the tight end position this season.