We are officially entering the start of fantasy football draft season with multiple players currently dealing with injuries early in training camp, which could have a huge impact in ongoing or upcoming fantasy drafts.
Here are the TE injury updates you need to know about entering your fantasy football draft.
Fantasy Injury Update
Sam LaPorta
One could make an argument that Detroit Lions TE Sam LaPorta had the best fantasy rookie season in NFL history. His 86 receptions for 889 yards and 10 TDs immediately produced a TE1 overall finish his first year in the league.
Unfortunately for fantasy managers who have already completed their drafts and invested high draft capital in the talented second-year player, LaPorta has been recently sidelined from practice while dealing with a hamstring injury.
Just spotted Lions TE Sam LaPorta working with a trainer on the Giants’ indoor practice field. Dealing with a hamstring injury, per Dan Campbell, who said he doesn’t expect it to be a long-term issue.
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) August 6, 2024
By most accounts, this hamstring issue doesn’t appear to be any sort of threat to his Week 1 status at the moment, but soft-tissue injuries do have a fairly high chance of being aggravated, upping the chances it potentially lingers for additional weeks at a time.
LaPorta is currently coming off the board at No. 25 overall in the third round as the TE1.
T.J. Hockenson
After averaging 14.6 fantasy points per game in full-PPR formats last year, Minnesota Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson had his excellent 2023 campaign come to an abrupt halt when Lions DB Kirby Joseph went low on the veteran tight end — which resulted in a torn ACL and clouds Hockenson’s status for the 2024 season opener.
Hockenson may not have a firm timetable to return at this moment, but recent comments from Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell suggest he is ahead of schedule from where some expected him to be at this point in the recovery process.
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/t-j-hockenson-injury-update-vikings-te-ahead-of-schedule-kevin-oconnell-puts-doubt-in-week-1-availability/
Hockenson has been a top-five TE on a per-game basis since he was moved to the Vikings just before the trade deadline of the 2022 NFL season. He has caught 155 passes for 1,479 yards and eight TDs over his 18 games in Minnesota.
Hockenson is currently coming off the board at No. 118 overall in the 10th round as the TE13.
Tucker Kraft
Green Bay Packers TE Tucker Kraft is still dealing with a pectoral injury that he sustained earlier this offseason, which has led to his limited amount of participation throughout the early going of training camp.
Recent reports suggest that Kraft is expecting to play Week 1, which is good news for a player who finished his rookie campaign strong with 31 receptions for 355 yards and two scores.
Packers TE Tucker Kraft expects to play Week 1, has high expectations entering Year 2 https://t.co/tC2l69F7a0 pic.twitter.com/oqYaGGn34a
— The Packers Wire (@ThePackersWire) August 8, 2024
Kraft is currently coming off the board past the 15th round as the TE30.
Mike Gesicki
Newly acquired Cincinnati Bengals TE Mike Gesicki is currently dealing with tightness in association with an undisclosed injury. The injury does not appear to be serious and was described as day-to-day by Bengals head coach Zac Taylor.
Gesicki is currently coming off the board past the 15th round as the TE28.
Juwan Johnson
New Orleans Saints TE Juwan Johnson has reportedly been making progress — in the form of running and jogging in practice — in his rehabilitation of a foot injury he is currently dealing with. There is a chance he could be ready to take the field for the season opener against the Carolina Panthers.
Johnson is currently coming off the board past the 15th round as the TE29.