Fantasy Upside
Hopkins is one of the best offensive players in the game. He was a first-team Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro last year, and he led the NFL with 13 touchdowns, catching 96 passes for 1,378 yards after signing an $81 million contract prior to the season. Much like Andre Johnson—his predecessor in Houston—Hopkins has produced at a high level despite dealing with subpar quarterback play for nearly his entire time in Houston. We say nearly, because the exception was last season's seven-game stretch with Deshaun Watson, who had an epic rookie campaign before he injured his knee.
While Hopkins has consistently played better than we all expected, there's reason to believe we haven't seen his ceiling. For the most part, Hopkins has relied on precise route-running, amazing hands and body control. He's also a physically tough and imposing player. As Bleacher Report put it, "He's the type of receiver that demands the ball even when he's covered." Think about his potential over a full season with Watson, who was on pace for 43 touchdown passes before he got hurt.
Fantasy Downside
The Texans' offensive line remains a bit suspect and one could certainly worry that Watson can't match his amazing rookie performances.
2018 Bottom Line
Yes. I was reaching a bit for that downside. Assuming the belief that Watson's rehab has him on track to open the season as the starter is correct, Hopkins is pushing into a tier created—and, up to this point, manned exclusively by—Antonio Brown. Hopkins is still the No. 2 behind Brown, but the gap is closing.
Week 17 at Indianapolis Colts
Even when his team is getting blown out, DeAndre Hopkins posts the highlight of the game. His spectacular TD was the lone bright spot in the Christmas Day loss to the Steelers. With T.J. Yates at QB for most of the contest, Hopkins finished with 4 catches for 65 yards. It was just another average outing for Hopkins in the first meeting with the Colts, registering 6 catches for 86 yards and a TD, but it looks like he will be out for the season finale.
Week 16 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Even though he had a toe injury and a horrible matchup last Sunday at Jacksonville with T.J. Yates as his QB, DeAndre Hopkins continued to put up solid fantasy numbers. He was targeted 13 times and caught only 4 passes, but Hopkins registered 80 yards and Houston’s only TD in the blowout loss. He is over 1,300 yards and has scored 12 times this season, but will be facing a Steelers defense ranked fifth against the pass. However, as we’ve learned, there isn’t a scenario where Hopkins should be left on your bench.
Week 15 at Jacksonville Jaguars
Once again, it doesn’t matter who the QB is, DeAndre Hopkins is a playmaker. In the loss to the 49ers last Sunday, he was targeted by Tom Savage and T.J. Yates 16 times, resulting in 11 catches for 149 yards and 2 scores. He has a league-high 11 TD grabs and been over 100 yards five times this season. Against Jacksonville in Week 1, Hopkins caught 7 passes for 55 yards and a TD. Even on the road with a third-string QB against the best pass defense, there is no way to even think about not having him in your lineup.
Week 14 vs. San Francisco 49ers
Somehow, someway, the Titans defense limited DeAndre Hopkins to under 100 yards and kept him out of the end zone last week. On 14 targets from Tom Savage, Hopkins collected 8 grabs for 80 yards—the first time since Week 3 in which he didn’t total at least 100 yards or register a score. You are definitely keeping him in your starting lineup, especially against a defense allowing over 230 aerial yards per game.
Week 13 at Tennessee Titans
All DeAndre Hopkins does is make plays. If he wasn’t drawing defensive penalties on the Baltimore secondary last Monday night, he was snagging pretty much any pass that came his direction. On 10 targets from Tom Savage, Hopkins grabbed 7 balls for 125 yards—the fourth time he’s been over the century mark this season. In the past five contests, No. 10 has 32 receptions for an average of 124 yards per game. In October versus the Titans, Hopkins caught a season-high 10 passes for 107 yards and a TD; of course, that was with Deshaun Watson at QB. However, the Titans are No. 20 versus the pass, so expect another strong performance from the Houston WR.
Week 12 at Baltimore Ravens
In case you had any doubts, just go ahead and ink DeAndre Hopkins into your starting lineup. Last week in the win over the Cardinals, he had an over-the-shoulder TD grab despite Patrick Peterson having decent coverage. On a team-high 9 targets, Hopkins finished with 4 grabs for 76 yards versus Arizona and has scored eight times in the past seven contests. While the Ravens pass defense is No. 2 in the league, there is no reason to consider taking Hopkins out of your lineup.
Week 11 vs. Arizona Cardinals
Even with Tom Savage continuing to QB the Texans, DeAndre Hopkins is still seeing his targets and posting good numbers. At the Rams last Sunday, Savage looked Hopkins' way 14 times, leading to 7 grabs for 111 yards. In the past three weeks, the WR has 21 catches for 421 yards and 2 TDs. He is a must-start, regardless of the signal-caller and the opponent.
Week 10 at Los Angeles Rams
While the Houston offense was far from what we’ve seen with Deshaun Watson at QB, DeAndre Hopkins still posted good fantasy numbers in the loss to Indianapolis last Sunday. Tom Savage targeted him 16 times, leading to 6 catches for 86 yards and his team-leading eighth TD. The Rams defense is No. 9 versus the pass, but Hopkins will continue to be the focal point of the Texans’ passing attack, regardless of who is throwing passes. He should remain in your starting lineup.
Week 9 vs. Indianapolis Colts
Regardless of the opponent, just go ahead and ink DeAndre Hopkins into your starting lineup. Last week in the tough loss at Seattle, he finished with 8 receptions for 224 yards and his seventh TD of season. With Deshaun Watson out and Tom Savage under center, Hopkins' numbers will certainly take a drop compared to what we've been seeing. At least the Texans passing attack will be going against the league’s second-worst pass defense.
