After Andre Johnson (who's going into the Hall of Fame next weekend) the greatest wide receiver in Houston Texans history is DeAndre Hopkins. Following a successful college career at Clemson, the Texans took Hopkins in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft. For the next seven seasons Hopkins balled out for Houston, totaling 632 catches, 8,602 yards, 54 touchdowns, four Pro Bowls and three first-team All-Pro honors.
While Texans fans may be grateful for Hopkins' time with the team, it sounds like the love isn't mutual. Hopkins was eventually traded to the Arizona Cardinals in 2020, and he made another Pro Bowl team that year. Since then Hopkins' production has been winding down and he's now in his third act with the division rival Tennessee Titans. Last season he had a bit of a resurgence, totaling over 1,000 yards for the first time in three years and finishing the season with seven touchdowns.
Apparently Hopkins is happier with the Titans than he's been anywhere else in his career, according to Nick Gray at The Tennessean.
"I love Tennessee. I love what Miss Amy (Adams Strunk, the Titans owner) is doing... I think this is the happiest I've been in any organization, so I'll just let that speak for itself."
Harsh, but it's tough to blame him. They have since corrected course and are on a championship trajectory, but when Hopkins left Houston the organization was a bit of a dumpster fire. Then there's the Cardinals, who have a strong case to be named the most-dysfunctional organization in the NFL now that Dan Snyder is out of the picture.
Then again, Hopkins would probably be better off with either Kyler Murray or C.J. Stroud throwing to him. Titans quarterback Will Levis showed some promise in his nine starts as a rookie, but it's also clear his game has a lot of room to grow and his offensive line won't be doing him any favors. Heading into 2024 their projected over/under is just 5.5 wins.
