Top Prop Bets for Week 12 Thanksgiving: Patriots vs. Vikings
Top 3 Player Prop Bets for Week 12: #2
Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson under 49.5 receiving yards – DraftKings Sportsbook (-150)
The Vikings stole T.J. Hockenson ahead of the trade deadline. That’s a fact. The former top 10 pick was rock solid for a poor Detroit Lions team, and has done nothing to temper expectations for Vikings fans. Upon arrival, he learned the playbook in short order and went out and played pitch and catch to the tune of nine receptions for 70 yards. He has had at least nine targets in each of his games with the Vikings and has had no fewer than five receptions.
So why the under? Two words. Kyle Dugger. When healthy, Dugger generally draws the matchup on an athletic pass-catching tight end and is all-world with those responsibilities. The Patriots have allowed north of 49.5 receiving yards to tight ends only three times this year. In Week 3, Mark Andrews had eight receptions for 89 yards and two touchdowns. In Week 6, David Njoku had three catches for 58 yards. In Week 8, Tyler Conklin had six receptions for 79 yards. Funny how that works: Kyle Dugger was injured and did not play in Weeks 3 or 8.
When Kyle Dugger was back in the lineup last week, Tyler Conklin had a lowly two receptions for 15 yards. Dugger lined up on Hockenson in Week 5 when the tight end was with Detroit and he was only able to bring in one catch for six yards. After the game, Hockenson said, “You can’t say that they didn’t have some things for us. They are a very moving front and they do a lot of things up front. For me even to get out on a route was tough, because their ends were just not too worried about the rush and they were hammering me and it was just one of those things.”
Coach Belichick will definitely aim to throw those same things at Hockenson on Thursday night, while quarterback Kirk Cousins surely aims to force-feed stud wideout Justin Jefferson. Take the under here. I expect Hockenson to bring in three or four grabs and be in the 25-35 yard range.