Andre Johnson Fantasy News

Monday, May 13, 2013, 1:05pm

Last year, there really weren’t any Texans WRs that stood out from the bunch, or distinguished themselves in camp as better than the incumbent Kevin Walter, who knew the playbook.

But just in rookie minicamp, DeAndre Hopkins CLEARLY stood out as someone who looks like he can play grown man football.

Setting the stage: First session of rookie minicamp. In the practice bubble due to bad weather. Poorly thrown ball goes Hopkins way and he snatches it in stride with one hand and heads up field. Huge assembled media almost in unison says, “Whoa, did you see that?”

And then keeps doing it. Highpointing balls that defenders have better position on and snatching out of air. Finding an obvious second gear in going after an overthrown ball. Catching tough balls in traffic. Diving for low thrown balls and getting them. Very natural catching the ball.

So, yes, the rest of the wide receivers at camp looked competent in what they were doing. But so many of the whoa catches came from Hopkins.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013, 4:00pm

Ravens WR Torrey Smith gave the Patriots headaches in the first meeting. Baltimore won the Week 3 matchup, 31-30, and Smith had six receptions for 127 yards and two touchdowns.

Smith is a matchup problem for the Patriots that concerns Belichick in this week's rematch. Expect New England to make some adjustments to try to prevent the big plays Smith can make.

"He’s always been able to run and the guy that makes all the plays down the field," Belichick said. "He can also run after the catch on the shorter and intermediate routes. If you give him a big cushion, that’s a problem too. He’s made a lot of big plays down the field on deep balls and that’s opened up things for him underneath as well. He’s been very productive."

The major difference in this meeting is New England acquired No. 1 cornerback Aqib Talib in a midseason trade with the Tampa Bay Bucanneers. The Patriots knew they needed a better cover corner against dynamic receivers like Smith if they want to make a Super Bowl run.

Talib spent much of last week’s game defending Houston Texans Pro Bowl receiver Andre Johnson. Expect Talib to see a lot of time on Smith Sunday.

Monday, December 17, 2012, 10:03am

Rookie receiver DeVier Posey entered Sunday’s game with one catch for 19 yards. On Sunday, he had three catches for 46 yards — including a 36-yarder.

Posey was getting more playing time, ahead of No. 2 receiver Kevin Walter. Walter had two catches for 11 yards.

“We like what we see from Posey in practice, and we’re playing him more,” coach Gary Kubiak said.

“What has taken place over the period of the last month is a young player who has really stepped up, so we’re going to give him more opportunities to help us.”