Houston Texans: DeAndre Hopkins is proving he’s the best in the league

Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins continues to not disappoint. With a clutch performance Sunday, here’s why he’s proving he’s the NFL’s best WR.

The Houston Texans were able to eke out a glorious win over the Dallas Cowboys, their interstate rival and they can continue to have bragging rights for the next four years.  This was seriously a game the Houston Texans had to win if they wanted to make the most out of this season.

With all other teams in the AFC South, falling to their respective opponents, the Houston Texans were the only one that came out the victor.  This ensures that they’re still in the race for the top spot and are now within a couple of games of the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars, who both share a 3-2 record.

It’s time to do whatever it takes to grab this season by the horns and make one hell of a comeback.  This certainly wasn’t the prettiest win I’ve ever seen but it was certainly the best football I’ve seen this team play all season.

If it wasn’t for the fact the Houston Texans were 1-for-5 in the red zone against the Dallas Cowboys last night, this 19-16 win would’ve been an alternate reality and they would’ve crushed their opponent in a blowout.

But I’ll take it whatever way I can get it!

Now let’s get to my point — let me tell you about DeAndre Hopkins.  The man is one of the greatest wide receivers I’ve ever seen.  He can haul it in from anywhere and he’s so good, he commands multiple guys on him to which it was hard for the Cowboys to do last night because of the complementary presences of Will Fuller and Keke Coutee.

The serious of spin moves and jukes that Hopkins made off a short pass from Deshaun Watson late in overtime to pretty much seal up the win last night was legendary.  That turned out to be a 49-yard pickup as well.

Hopkins had truly the best game of the season, catching nine balls for a 151 yards — 16.8 yards per catch — and a whole lot of cred to go along with his ultimate supremacy.

At 594 total receiving yards to his credit through these five games, nobody has more than Hopkins.  Although the Minnesota Vikings’ Adam Thielen is just five yards behind him (589), I think Hopkins will reign supreme this season.

With talented wideout Antonio Brown not quite putting up the numbers he usually does, it’s

More from House of Houston

• Are you the 2021 FanSided Sports Fan of the Year?
• Houston Texans: 4 reasons Romeo Crennel is right coach right now
• Astros-Twins Wild Card Series: 5 things to know as MLB postseason begins
• Houston Texans: The Most Underrated Sports Drought Ever
• Houston Texans: J.J. Watt’s early case for NFL Hall of Fame

Hopkins’ for the taking.  Brown has been suffering from various injuries to his hip and groin and it’s possible that has slowed him a bit.

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Hopkins has 57 targets on the season while Brown is not too far behind at 52 of those.  It’s not that Brown isn’t getting the touches, he’s just not making the most of them and this is certainly the reason why this is Nuk’s year to breakout on his own.

He also has the highest PFF drop rate grade (90.2), the 2nd-highest offensive grade (89.6) as well as the 2nd-highest receiving grade (89.0) which are all stats that put him into the elite category.

Brown’s line is 70.3/70.1/77.5 respectively.

It’s early in the season but I have strong feelings that if this were a sprint to be the league’s best wideout, Hopkins would be out front looking just slightly behind his shoulder while he’s in a league of his own.

Will it continue?  I think so and think we’re all in for a treat this season.  With Watson being able to target him regularly, it’s only going to help boost his immense presence even more.

We’ll have to see!

For more grades, advanced statistics and more at Pro Football Focus, subscribe
to PFF’s EDGE or ELITE subscriptions at ProFootballFocus.com.