Austin Hooper
  • Austin Hooper

  • TE
  • , Free-Agent Free-Agent
  • 30
  • 254 lbs
  • 6' 4"
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Scouting report

by Spencer Babbitt

TEN TE Austin Hooper - 2022 Fantasy Football Outlook

2022 Fantasy Upside
Austin Hooper is coming off a pedestrian season in Cleveland where he managed to catch only 38 balls for 345 yards and three touchdowns over 16 games. Hooper posted a mere 5.7 yards per target in 2021, the lowest number of his career. The good news for Hooper is he is now in Tennessee where he should be the primary pass catching tight end in an offense in need of playmaking following the departure of A.J. Brown via trade. Hooper's time in Atlanta established him as a solid pass catcher, and the hope is a change of scenery will revive his offensive abilities now that he's paired with Ryan Tannehill. With only Geoff Swaim behind him on the depth chart and the Titans' wideouts being 30-year-old Robert Woods and rookie Treylon Burks, Hooper should get more opportunity in 2022 than he ever did in Cleveland.

2022 Fantasy Downside
Hooper has never been a particularly explosive player, meaning he requires significant volume to return any fantasy value. Nothing on Hooper's statistical profile jumps off the page from an efficiency standpoint aside from the fact that he rarely drops passes. The Titans employ a run-first offense with Derrick Henry leading the way, and that could be emphasized more than ever this season without a downfield threat like Brown in the lineup. Hooper's limitations as a player and the questions surrounding how the Titans offense will look with all its personnel changes render Hooper a low-ceiling TE2 for fantasy purposes.

2022 Bottom Line
It is certainly possible Hooper expands on his statistical production from Cleveland this season. With the Browns, Hooper had to compete in a crowded tight end room which will not be an issue in Tennessee. However, the Titans offense does not look like much of an upgrade over the Browns under current circumstances, and Hooper's inability to turn receptions into long gains means he will be touchdown dependent in fantasy leagues and only worthy of TE2 consideration.

by Frank Ammirante

CLE TE Austin Hooper - Week 14 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 14 vs. Ravens

Austin Hooper immediately becomes a viable streamer with David Njoku likely out for this game with COVID-19. Hooper takes on a Ravens defense that ranks 18th in Schedule-Adjusted Fantasy Points per game, so this is an exploitable matchup. However, I would temper your expectations given Hooper's mediocre season-long production.

by Frank Ammirante

CLE TE Austin Hooper - Week 5 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 5 at Chargers

Hooper has finished as TE29, TE17, TE13, and TE49 this season, demonstrating his limited upside and low floor in this run-heavy offense with two other capable tight ends in David Njoku and Harrison Bryant. Hooper is playing on 66% of the snaps with a middling 14.8% target share. You can do better if you're trying to stream at tight end.

Hooper goes up against a Chargers defense that ranks 9th in aFPA to tight ends. When you consider that this defense's strength is against the pass (4th in rush DVOA) while struggling to stop the run (25th in rush DVOA), it's hard to see this as the game that Hooper has a spike week. I'd avoid him in this spot.

by Frank Ammirante

CLE TE Austin Hooper - Week 4 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 4 at Vikings

Hooper has finished as TE29, TE17, and TE13 this season. The problem is that he's only put up a 14.29% target share, which is tough to rely on with this run-heavy offense. The good news is that Hooper should be able to see a bit of a bump in targets with Landry sidelined. The bad news is that the other tight ends like David Njoku (10.39% target share) and Harrison Bryant (41.29% of snaps) still play a role.

Hooper goes up against a Vikings defense that ranks 30th in aFPA, so perhaps he can make an impact in this spot. He'll definitely have more of a chance to find the endzone because it's a projected shootout. Hooper has racked up three red-zone targets, establishing himself as the top option for Mayfield there, so this is a great spot for him. Consider Hooper a viable streamer against the Vikings.

by Frank Ammirante

CLE TE Austin Hooper - Week 3 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 3 vs. Bears
Hooper is currently tied for the team lead with a 16.67% target share, but the problem is that he's sharing that lead with fellow tight end David Njoku. There is also second-year tight end Harrison Bryant, who has played over 41 percent of the snaps. Bryant has put up a 12.5% target share, making this a frustrating situation for fantasy players. It's tough to trust any of these tight ends unless there is an injury to one of the players because they're eating into each other's fantasy values right now.

Hooper takes on the Bears this week, but with Beckham back in the lineup, it's hard to consider the veteran tight end as a potential streamer in this spot. We can likely project Beckham to lead the team in targets in his first game back. Hooper would need the Browns to fall behind, resulting in an uptick in passing volume, for him to provide solid value in this one. We can consider him an underwhelming TE2 in this game.

by Frank Ammirante

CLE TE Austin Hooper - Week 2 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 2 vs. Texans

Hooper had a disappointing game against the Chiefs, catching all three of his targets for only 27 yards. While he led tight ends with a 64.41% snap rate, he had a lower target share (11.11%) than fellow tight end David Njoku (18.52% ). Njoku finished second on the team with 102 air yards, so it's clear that the young tight end is knocking on the door for some fantasy relevance. There's a chance that Njoku's emergence can really put a dent in Hooper's fantasy value.

While the Texans defense struggled in virtually every facet of the game last year, they did do a good job defending tight ends, ranking 9th in aFPA last season. However, they did allow Jaguars' tight end David O'Shaughnessy to catch 6-of-8 targets for 48 yards. Having said that, it's hard to trust Hooper in this spot while he's contending for targets with Njoku. There are a lot of mouths to feed in this offense, even with OBJ sidelined and especially in this run-heavy game script.

by Frank Ammirante

CLE TE Austin Hooper - Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 1 at Kansas City Chiefs

Austin Hooper is only one year removed from catching 75-of-97 targets for 787 yards and six touchdowns, a strong season that resulted in the Browns making him one of the highest-paid tight ends in football. While this will still be a run-heavy offense, Hooper has a chance to make an impact as a sleeper tight end in his second year with the Browns. Hooper is on the streaming radar in this potential shootout against a Chiefs defense that ranked 28th in aFPA to tight ends last season.

The risk here is that the Browns have quite possibly the best trio of tight ends with Hooper, David Njoku and Harrison Bryant. There are so many mouths to feed in this offense, which is made even worse with the run-heavy philosophy. This really caps Hooper’s ceiling, especially in games where the Browns are successfully running the football. Having said that, Hooper looks like a Top-15 tight end in this potential shootout.

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