Houston Texans: DeAndre Hopkins leads the AFC in this important stat

Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is an AFC-leader in one of the most important stats to be measured by. What is it? Take a look and find out.

The Houston Texans rise to an 8-3 record after an 0-3 start has storybook-like implications, being the only team in the NFL to have this kind of surge within a season. Many of us thought that the Houston Texans‘ season was lost and things were going to ultimately be in the doldrums.

But that simply hasn’t been the case as this team continues to trot out and build their confidence with each game that passes by. The amount of opportunity this team has to grab a stranglehold of the AFC is ripe and they’re just one game behind the conference-leading Kansas City Chiefs.

This team has all the tools to go the distance and though they are not a favorite to emerge out of the conference, they have certainly immersed themselves into the conversation. As much as this eight-game win streak feels cheap to some fans of the Houston Texans, the fact that they’ve gotten there is a feat within itself.

The amazing thing is that guys who have been on the shelf for a good chunk of the season are getting healthy once again. Slot cornerback Aaron Colvin recently made his return after missing the past six games with an ankle injury. Linebacker Dylan Cole was just added to the 53-man roster after missing the past eight games with a wrist injury.

Running back D’Onta Foreman, the Houston Texans 2017 third-rounder, is set to be ready soon as

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the team has opened the 21-day window for him to return. He hasn’t appeared in game since Week 11 of his rookie season, where he blew out his knee on a beautiful touchdown run in a eventual 31-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals. The team could use more depth at that position because Lamar Miller and Alfred Blue are the only backs used on consistent basis in the ground game.

Along with all of that, DeAndre Hopkins is putting together something special and this is likely going to be the best season of his career, even surpassing the heroics of the 2015 season, currently the best on record.

So what stat does Hopkins lead the AFC in?

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Hopkins ZERO DROPS through 101 targets and has caught 73 balls in all 11 games this season. That’s not an easy feat and only Stefon Diggs of the Minnesota Vikings has a better mark with no drops in 106 targets and 79 catches.

Hopkins is extremely technical with his movements and tries to draw penalties to whomever is guarding him which could be sometimes up to two or three guys giving him attention. To say that Hopkins is a dangerous threat to anybody in his path is an understatement. The amount of success that he’s enjoying — especially with a healthy Deshaun Watson throwing to him — has put him on a trajectory of earning Hall of Fame status.

We’ll see how that pans out but his track record speaks for itself.

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Hopkins has caught 73 balls for 1,024 yards — 14.0 yards per catch — along with eight touchdowns on the season.

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