Houston Texans: Three players most likely to end up in the HOF
By T.A. Mock
DeAndre Hopkins, WR, 2013 – Present
I know what you may be thinking, this is just too soon. You’re absolutely right but, he has had five really solid seasons that, if he can maintain longevity, could put him on pace for the Hall. What Hopkins has done so far in his career has paced him with some of the best
Through five seasons Hopkins actually is on pace for better numbers than Hall of Famers Owens, Marvin Harrison, and Andre Reed. He is also on pace for better numbers than some possible future Hall of Famers Steve Smith, Anquan Boldin, Calvin Johnson, and others.
Hopkins currently has 5,865 yards and 36 touchdowns. That’s about an average of 74 yards per game which is good, not great. He’s also played with a lot of terrible quarterbacking early on in his career. If Deshaun Watson can stay healthy, that should never be a problem again.
The biggest thing against Hopkins resume right now is his lack of elite touchdown production. He’s only been averaging seven touchdowns a season but, this past season he had more touchdowns than his first, second, and fourth seasons combined.
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He’s averaging 1,173 yards a season currently which if he plays eight more years, which is around most Hall of Famer’s career length, he’ll add 9,384 yards to make his career total over 15,000 yards. I think that pace could be a little low as well, especially if he and Watson can continue to develop their connection.
Hopkins has also only missed one game in his five-year career so far. It was this past season towards the end of the year and I reckon he could’ve played if playoff contention was on the line. If he can continue to stay healthy his case will only get simpler.
The largest obstacle to his Hall of Fame case may be this pass-heavy era. He’ll likely be ending his career around the same time as countless other prolific receivers from this era. That will crowd the field and could push some worthy people out for a few years.