Houston Texans: Top 30 players in franchise history
By T.A. Mock
DeAndre Hopkins. 3. player. 10. . WR. (2013-Present)
The Texans selected DeAndre Hopkins 27th overall pick out of Clemson in the 2013 NFL Draft. Andre Johnson was getting up there in age and starting to slow down. Adding a young complement could help extend Johnson’s career and expand the Texans offense.
Hopkins had a pretty good rookie season playing second fiddle to Johnson in the Texans offense. He caught 52 passes for over 800 yards and two touchdowns. Not too shabby for a rookie learning the ropes of the NFL. However, he truly broke out in 2014. Hopkins garnered over 1,000 yards receiving, which made Johnson and his large contract expendable.
Hopkins became the man in 2015 and balled out with a bunch of scrubs at quarterback tossing him the ball. He began to put himself on the national map as one of the best wide receivers in the league. He made his first Pro Bowl in 2015 and continued to have success moving forward.
His production was somewhat hampered by bad quarterbacking by the likes of Brian Hoyer, Brock Osweiler and Ryan Fitzpatrick. However, he was still proving why he is one of the best. 2017 was one of his best years. It just so happened to coincide with a great quarterback for the first half of the season in Deshaun Watson’s rookie year.
2018, however, was Hopkins best by far. He staked his claim as the best wide receiver in football. It was his second year in a row as a consensus First Team All-Pro. For his career, he’s caught 528 balls for 7,437 yards and 47 touchdowns. He could continue to rise on this list before it’s all said and done.