DeAndre Hopkins shouldn’t be as good as he is with the quarterbacks he’s worked with.
Arizona Cardinals’ wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is a top-three target in the NFL. Sure, one could make the argument that Julio Jones or Michael Thomas deserves the top spot, but Hopkins’ stat line since entering the league cements him no less than No.3 on any respectable list.
What’s crazy is the connection between a quarterback and his go-to weapon. For Hopkins, what quarterback earned that title? Outside of Deshaun Watson, the former Houston Texans were in a quarterback limbo of pure agony during his stay at NRG Stadium.
In a recent interview with Bryant McFadden and Patrick Peterson, Hopkins spoke about his quarterback situation early on in his career. As the list of backups and blunders continued to pile, Hopkins’ face told the story. One look into those eyes and lip quiver and you can tell it’s just leading to a path down bad memory lane.
Remember the Texans…quarterback fiasco?
Since departing Clemson in 2013, Hopkins played with Matt Schaub, Case Keenum, Ryan Fitzpatrick, TJ Yates, Ryan Mallett, Brian Hoyer, Brandon Weeden, Tom Savage and the ultimate F.O.A.T gunslinger Brock Osweiler. Of the three that still are around, all are backups behind younger, more agile quarterbacks.
During the Pre-Watson life, Hopkins still was a star, even though he was splitting catches with Andre Johnson. In 2014-15, the former “Wide Receiver U” alum finished with at least 76 catches for over 1,200 yards and six touchdowns. Three times Hopkins also has caught over 100 balls in a single season and finished with over 10 scores in that same number.
Watson’s arrival in 2017 brought stability to Texans’ offense for the first time in Hopkins’ career. During his two full seasons with the fellow Clemson standout, the duo combined for 219 catches, 2737 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Traded this offseason in what could only be described as a highway robbery, Hopkins has flourished in the desert with Kyler Murray. Through seven games, the three-time All-Pro has collected 57 catches for 704 yards and three touchdowns. He’s also had four 100-yard games thus far.
While Jones and Thomas are respected for their craft, they’ve also had either Matt Ryan and Drew Brees as their quarterbacks their entire careers. They should be thankful they never had to work with signal-callers that are a promising target’s nightmare fuel.