DeAndre Hopkins Deserving Of Chance To Thrive In Elite Situation

It’s easy to look at DeAndre Hopkins’ numbers from the last two seasons and question why some of the NFL’s best are credited with an interest in him following his release by the Arizona Cardinals.

Hopkins has totaled 1,289 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns across 2021 and 2022. Not terrible numbers by any means, especially considering they came over the course of 19 games owing to injury and a six-game suspension last season.

Still, following a three-touchdown effort in 2022, which he finished 70th in Football Outsiders DYAR – a measure of total value – plenty may be wondering whether the 31-year-old is past his peak and querying whether he is deserving of admiring glances from the likes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.

Yet it is important to separate Hopkins from the situation in which he played in Arizona. Kyler Murray was limited to just 11 games in 2022, leaving the Cardinals to rotate between Colt McCoy, David Blough and Trace McSorley under center.

Even when he was healthy, Murray performed well below his best, his yards per attempt average of 6.1 by far the worst of his still relatively young career.

A lack of snaps that saw Murray and Hopkins on the field at the same time was a contributor in the Cardinals going 4-13 in a dreadful 2022 campaign. Yet, when they were both available and performing close to their best, their connection was impressive. Hopkins posted a passer rating when targeted of 133.6 during a 2021 season that saw Arizona make the playoffs.

While he was not at his best last year, Hopkins’ remarkable consistency should breed confidence his career can be revived playing with quarterbacks of the caliber of Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.

He has seven seasons in the top 20 of DYAR, including each of his first two seasons in Arizona, to his name. Since his first 1,000-yard season in 2014, Hopkins ranks eighth in Expected Points Added per play among pass catchers with at least 1,000 plays in that span, according to nflindex.com.

With six 1,000-yard seasons on his resume, Hopkins has a history of regularly delivering elite and efficient production during a stellar career.

Hopkins may be heading towards the down years of that career, but he still boasts the route-running acumen and the ball-winning ability to be an asset to quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen who can maximize the impact of their supporting casts.

After spending most of his career in bad situations in Houston and Arizona, Hopkins deserves to have the opportunity to spend at least a portion of his latter years as a pro playing for a team that will put him in a position to succeed.