Former Iowa Star Has Been Absurdly Efficient Against All Odds

This former Iowa Hawkeyes star has been enjoying an incredibly efficient NFL season with the Minnesota Vikings in the face of massive adversity.

Dec 24, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson (87) warms up before the game against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium. / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson tore his ACL last December, putting an unfortunate period at the end of what was a brilliant 2023 campaign for the former Iowa Hawkeyes star.

Hockenson spent the offseason and the first half of the 2024 NFL season recovering from the brutal injury and finally returned to the field in Week 9.

Since then, Hockenson has resumed his role as a critical piece in the Vikings' offense, and on Monday night, he logged five catches for 52 yards in a win over the Chicago Bears.

On the season overall, the 27-year-old has logged 32 catches for 351 yards, and while the numbers may not jump off the page, they are incredibly impressive stats for a player who was just sidelined for 11 months.

Hockenson owns a catch percentage of 74.4 percent this year, which is well above his career average of 68.7 percent. What's more, he is logging 11 yards per reception, which is his highest mark since his rookie campaign with the Detroit Lions back in 2019.

Translated over a full 17-game campaign, Hockenson would be on pace for about 78 catches for 852 yards, which are Pro Bowl-caliber numbers for a tight end.

Sure, Hockenson has yet to reach the end zone, but the fact that he has been able to get back into the swing of things so quickly and snaring nearing everything that Sam Darnold throws to him is truly a testament to the type of player he is.

The Iowa product was originally selected by the Lions with the eighth overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft and was traded to the Vikings midway through the 2022 campaign.

Hockenson has made a couple of trips to the Pro Bowl.