Houston Texans Cannot Afford to Ignore DeAndre Hopkins
Now with the Houston Texans franchise player, J.J. Watt, out for an extended period of time, this is not the time for the Texans to ignore their next best player, DeAndre Hopkins.
Houston Texans star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has decided to leave the team facilities, and opt to hold out as Adam Schefter of ESPN reports, in which the Texans later confirmed Saturday.
Was it a greedy move from the fourth year receiver? Or was it simply justified from the on-field play we have all seen day in and day out since Hopkins has been drafted?
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Last year, Hopkins was simply a beast at wideout, no matter the quarterback in under center or the numerous double teams that came his way. Hopkins may be one of the worst one on one match-ups that the league has seen since Randy Moss.
You could potentially throw a Calvin Johnson comparison in there but the plays Hopkins makes on the field justifies the extra pay-day he is looking for. The comparisons are strong and highly debatable, but the play that “Nuk” has provided has been unbelievable.
Will Fuller, the first round wide receiver drafted this year out of Notre Dame; is scheduled to make just about the same, if not more than, DeAndre Hopkins in his first season of play, wrap your head around that for a second. The Texans picked up his fifth year option, so technically Hopkins will be under contract for another two years.
The team expressed their disappointment in Hopkins’ decision to not report to camp, but after dishing out big money to Brock Osweiler, Lamar Miller, and their general manager Rick Smith while also handing out new lucrative contracts to J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus as they entered their fourth seasons; why isn’t it reasonable for Hopkins to be treated the way others were as he enters his fourth season as a Texan?
Hopkins has produced back-to-back 1,000-plus yard seasons. In 2015, he finished with a gaudy 111 receptions for 1,521 yards and 11 scores. There nearly hasn’t been as many bright spots on offense in recent years in Houston as there has been on defense. The injury-riddled Arian Foster was released this offseason and signed with the Miami Dolphins.
Aging Andre Johnson was cut loose before 2015 and is now with the Tennessee Titans after slowing down in Indianapolis the previous year. The quarterback carousel continues with hopes Osweiler can be the resolution, there just hasn’t been any stability on offense since coach Bill O’Brien took over the coaching duties.
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The one real mainstay of this offense is the one and only “Nuk” Hopkins. The Texans can ill afford to ignore their best offensive weapon they’ve had in recent memory. I know this, Texans fans know this, his teammates probably are well aware of this; and last but not least, Hopkins himself knows the Texans need him more than he needs the Houston Texans.