'Nowhere else I'd rather be': T.J. Hockenson has standout Vikings debut

LANDOVER, MD. — Five days after Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson was acquired via trade from the Lions, he already felt welcomed by the purple-heavy crowd at FedEx Field that chanted his name during pregame warmups, well before he caught any of the nine passes he turned into 70 yards against the Commanders.

"Hearing the fans out there and how they travel," Hockenson said. "Walking out and they're already yelling my name. This is pretty sweet, so I'm just really happy to be part of this organization and really happy to be a part of this team and there's nothing else, nowhere else I'd rather be. It's been awesome."

Because of the quick turnaround for Sunday's game — Hockenson didn't practice with the Vikings until Wednesday — he was expected to have a limited role. But the fourth-year tight end not only started, he played almost every snap as an instant difference-maker.

Hockenson caught quarterback Kirk Cousins' second throw of the game, showing his versatility by lining up out wide and running a post route underneath a deep safety. He turned that grab into 19 yards, the longest catch by a Vikings tight end this season.

He was heavily involved as a run blocker, which also set up play-action catches that showed his range in the game plan. Hockenson, a 2019 first-round pick, said this is the fourth different playbook he's learning in his fourth NFL season.

"I really tried my hardest this week to learn everything," Hockenson said. "That's kind of the standard I put on myself is to be a guy that, if they needed me, I'd at least know what I was doing. That was a big emphasis for me this week, just be ready when my number was called. I was able to do that."

Coach Kevin O'Connell said he was amazed at how well Hockenson picked up the week's game plan. The only part that seemingly faltered was on screens, where Hockenson caught three passes for a loss of 8 yards. He gained 78 yards on the other six grabs.

"He deserves all the credit," O'Connell said. "Both him and [tight ends coach] Brian Angelichio, they spent a lot of time together over the last five days getting him ready to play. We did not really dumb anything down. We didn't have a separate offense when T.J. was in there. I was amazed how prepared he was to play. I think it's a testament to his work ethic, his ability to retain a lot of information."

Receiver Justin Jefferson said he wanted to do whatever he could to help the growth of another threat in this offense.

"For him to come in less than a week and play, a lot of snaps at that, it's definitely difficult," Jefferson said. "I had to tell him before the game, 'If you ever have a brain fart, just let me know and I'll tell you.' He did a great job stepping in, making some great catches. We're going to be dangerous with him."