Dynasty Twitter Observations: TJ Hockenson’s New Home, Joe Mixon’s TDs and Justin Fields’ Huge Day

Joe Mixon

Michael Moore Posted On November 9, 2022

It was a big week on Twitter between the recent trade deadline and several eye-popping performances on the field. No matter what the development, it all has an impact on our dynasty teams. Below are a few of those to keep an eye on.

TJ What?

8️⃣7️⃣ T.J. Hockenson pic.twitter.com/apOP5xtDbK

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 2, 2022

There were plenty of trades made last week but the most curious was the one involving tight end TJ Hockenson. He had been the subject of trade rumors, which was curious itself, but to be traded to an in-division rival? And a rival that’s currently running away with the division? I don’t know that anyone had that on their bingo board but it happened. Hockenson was moved to Minnesota (along with two fourth-round picks) for the Vikings’ second-round pick in 2023 and a third-round pick in 2024.

It makes some sense for the Lions if they had no plans of re-signing Hockenson. He was scheduled to be a free agent after the 2023 season and it’s not as if Detroit needed him this year so might as well get maximum value. For the Vikings, who are in first place with a 7-1 record and a ticket seemingly already punched for the playoffs, they needed a boost on offense. They’re just middle of the pack when it comes to yards and points despite having Justin Jefferson leading the way. They thought Hockenson was the missing piece to make a Super Bowl run after the injury to starter Irv Smith Jr – and he kicked off his Minnesota career with a solid nine catches for 70 yards.

Dynasty Impact: While current Hockenson dynasty managers may wince looking at Irv Smith’s production in Minnesota, they should rather look at current Rams tight end Tyler Higbee. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell was the Rams’ offensive coordinator for the last two years of which Higbee was the primary tight end. Last season, Higbee was the third priority in the passing game (much like Hockenson will be behind Jefferson and Adam Thielen) and totaled 61 receptions for 560 yards and five touchdowns. The year before, he turned in a 44-521-5 season. In both seasons Higbee was a fringe TE1/2 in fantasy scoring. That should be what we expect Hockenson to turn in. It won’t quite be a top-five scoring season for a tight end but it also isn’t the end of the world.

Currently, Hockenson is ranked as a top-five dynasty tight end in our DLF rankings. He shouldn’t be now he is playing in Minnesota but he’s still a top-ten dynasty tight end and should be valued accordingly. If someone is willing to pay top-five dynasty assets for him, do it. If not, just hold for now.

Joe Out on a Limb

my notifications are like:

Mixon TD
Mixon TD
Mixon TD
Mixon TD
Mixon TD

— NFL (@NFL) November 6, 2022

Joe Mixon undoubtedly won several fantasy matchups this week. It wasn’t only the best fantasy game of the week and most likely the year but it was a career game for Mixon. Against a defeated Panthers defense, he ran for 153 yards on just 22 carries and four touchdowns AND added five receptions for 58 yards and another touchdown. There’s no telling how many fantasy points are based on your league’s scoring but, needless to say, it’s a lot.

For Mixon and his dynasty managers, this performance couldn’t happen soon enough. He’s been decidedly below average and has only held his fantasy value because the Bengals have no other options in the running game. He had scored just two rushing touchdowns before his breakout and had just two games where he averaged above 3.5 yards per carry. It remains to be seen if his week nine outburst was a kickstart to a better season or just a blip. Either way, it’ll be hard to keep him out of fantasy lineups for the foreseeable future.

Dynasty Impact: Mixon probably won’t be able to keep up this pace the rest of the season but his managers would take half of what he did this last week. His current dynasty ranking of RB10 was sure to drop soon after a lackluster start to the season. His dynasty ADP was even more troubling.

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For dynasty managers, it’s time to move on from Mixon. It could be now if your dynasty team is out of contention or the off-season if you’re in the playoff hunt but it would be better to move on before it’s too late. He will be 27 next year and it would be surprising for the Bengals to not make some sort of addition to the backfield whether it’s through the draft or free agency. The days of Mixon being a workhorse are ending both for the Bengals and your dynasty team.

Fields of Dreams

https://twitter.com/JackMiller02/status/1589360857003462657?s=20&t=8M3XQnfrsTjrbNeI3Z-ZTg

Justin Fields (and the Bears) have steadily gotten better as the 2022 season has gone on. In the opener, he threw for 121 yards, two touchdowns, and a pick and just 28 yards. But by week nine, Fields threw for just 123 yards but a career-high three touchdowns to go along with his record-breaking performance on the ground. It’s the kind of performance that shot Fields to the top of superflex rookie drafts last year and his managers hope to see a lot more of him moving forward.

Dynasty Impact: Thanks to Fields’ mini-breakout and the rest of the 2021 rookie quarterbacks underperforming, there’s a very real chance Fields ends up the best of the class. If he can continue to run like he’s been running – he had totaled over 400 rushing yards before this week – and add another level to his passing game, he’s sure to climb from his current tenth spot in our DLF dynasty ranks. He, seemingly, has stability in the coaching game after moving on from his rookie coach; the Bears added receiver Chase Claypool at the deadline, finally providing Fields with a competent weapon downfield. The pieces are all there for him and his managers. If you’re a current Fields manager, it would be best to hold. If you’re out of the playoff hunt in your league and looking at a rebuild, consider Fields instead of a rookie. He’s young enough and there might be a team out there willing to take other assets rather than hold on to him.