What To Do With Injured Fantasy Football TEs: T.J. Hockenson, Greg Dulcich, And More

Should fantasy football managers draft injured tight ends in 2024? Joey Pollizze looks at TEs like T.J. Hockenson, Greg Dulcich, and more entering draft season.

The tight-end position has never been deeper in fantasy than it is heading into this season. In years prior, there were only 1-4 solid options, and the rest were all the same. However, that is certainly not the case in 2024. 

Sam LaPorta is currently the best option at the position in drafts, but waiting for a tight end this year might be the better option. That's because tight ends like Evan Engram, David Njoku, Jake Ferguson, and Dallas Goedert are all going in the middle-to-late rounds.

Another tight end to possibly target in the later rounds is T.J. Hockenson. However, the Vikings playmaker is coming off a torn ACL, and he has no timetable set for his return. So, what should fantasy managers do with injured tight ends like Hockenson and Greg Dulcich? Should you select them in drafts? Let's dive in and find out. 

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T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings

Hockenson was the best fantasy tight end before suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 16. The 26-year-old tore his ACL and MCL against the Detroit Lions and faces a long road to recovery. Prior to that injury, though, he was the TE1 while averaging 14.6 PPR fantasy points per game. However, a lot has changed since that injury.

For starters, he is expected to miss a portion of the 2024 campaign. Since he tore his ACL and MCL late last season, Hockenson will likely miss the first couple of weeks of the regular season. As of June 26, the 26-year-old does not have a timetable set for his return, and the tight end said he is taking things "day by day, week by week." Kirk Cousins also left in free agency, so the tight end no longer has a reliable quarterback throwing him passes. 

I'm not counting on TJ Hockenson or Nick Chubb for the 2024 season.

Hockenson torn ACL and MCL on Dec 24th
Chubb torn ACL, MCL and Meniscus on Sept 18th

Multiple ligament knee injuries take more time and are more complicated.

— Nick Whalen (@_NickWhalen) June 26, 2024

With all that in mind, Hockenson is not necessarily a strong target in the double-digit rounds. He will surely not be ready for the Vikings' season opener against the New York Giants, and even when he does return, there are some question marks about the team's quarterback play. J.J. McCarthy and Sam Darnold are both likely serious downgrades from Cousins, so the tight end might not have a high ceiling anymore in fantasy. Still, given his talent, it might be hard to pass on him in drafts. 

Greg Dulcich, Denver Broncos 

What a disappointing couple of seasons it has been for Denver Broncos tight end Greg Dulcich. Since being drafted in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Dulcich has had a hard time staying on the field. He missed the first five weeks of his rookie campaign due to a hamstring injury he suffered in the offseason. Then, he missed the final three games of that season with the same hamstring issue. 

The same injury continued to bother him in 2023, as Dulcich played in just two games. He suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain in the Broncos' season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders before returning in Week 6 and reaggravating his hamstring issue that same week. The 24-year-old would then spend the final 11 weeks on the injured reserve list.

First open day of #Broncos OTAs today. In addition to Courtland Sutton and John Franklin-Myers, DJ Jones wasn’t in attendance. Few guys limited including TE Greg Dulcich.

Also, welcome back Tim Patrick. pic.twitter.com/MmpmWBu5FZ

— Parker Gabriel (@ParkerJGabriel) May 23, 2024

The good news for Dulcich is that he should be healthy heading into the year. He is expected to be ready for training camp, which is certainly a good sign for a player who missed 15 games in 2023. However, his situation has also gotten worse, considering either Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham, or Zach Wilson will be his quarterback this season. Given his injury history and Denver's quarterback options, the young tight end could be in for another rough fantasy campaign. He shouldn't be drafted in most leagues this summer. 

Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams 

Los Angeles Rams tight end Tyler Higbee was a streaming option in some weeks throughout the 2023 season. He averaged 7.2 PPR fantasy points per game while scoring at least nine fantasy points five times. However, Higbee is on track to miss a large portion of the 2024 campaign after tearing his ACL and MCL in the playoffs. 

The veteran injured his knee in the Rams' Wild Card playoff loss, so he'll almost certainly miss the team's season opener against the Detroit Lions. As of right now, Higbee does not have a timetable set for his return. So, it would be hard to envision him being ready for the start of training camp at the end of July.

At this point, it's safe to assume that Higbee won't make his season debut sometime until the middle of the year. He just underwent knee surgery at the end of February, which means he is just four months removed from repairing his torn ACL and MCL. With the 31-year-old out for an extended time to start the 2024 campaign, he isn't worth a pick in most fantasy leagues this summer. He wasn't really involved in the passing game last year, and Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp figure to hog all the targets in Los Angeles' offense again. 

Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson's newest injury should be on fantasy managers' radar. Johnson injured his foot during the team's minicamp in June, and he could now miss the start of the regular season because of it.

Despite the team being hopeful that Johnson will be ready for Week 1, he faces an uphill battle to be active. The 27-year-old underwent foot surgery and is expected to be out "a while." While there hasn't been a clear timetable set for his return, he figures to start training camp on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list. 

"I'm not really sure how it happened."

-- Dennis Allen on Juwan Johnson's foot injury pic.twitter.com/u8PE7EK6vH

— NOF (@nofnetwork) June 13, 2024

Johnson was an occasional streaming option in fantasy last year after averaging 7.5 PPR fantasy points across 13 games. He also came on at the end of last season and scored in double figures in PPR formats in three of the final four contests. But his latest injury surely pushes his ADP back a little. Still, he might be worth a pick in the final round of your fantasy draft because he did show some nice things late in 2023. 

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