I maybe in the minority here, but I think we should've gone with Cordarelle Patterson. Hopkins outside of the Tennessee game has been unimpressive. He cannot get separation consistently and his blocking isn't that great. I know it's way too early to judge, but what do you guy's think of him?
Its been a long and hard season for him, but I think he's finally getting his head wrapped around the playbook, and that will let him continue to grow and do less thinking with his head. I think the game is slowing down for him, and he's getting over whatever mental issues he may have had, which is enabling him to stay in the game a bit longer. -Kubiak
More known for his "hacked" instagram than his play. Has he lived up to the hype? No, not really. But it's been a train wreck of a season so I'm not really gonna hold that against him. Would I draft him there at 27 again? Yeah, more likely than not. Wanna talk about "disappointments"? See Tavon Austin in St. Louis.
I think he'll be fine when we have a real QB/Coach. But uh, offensive player of the year as some said? No.
Thought we should have went after someone in FA or grabbed a veteran like Santana Moss via trade. Investing a 1st rounder in a WR2 without much WR1 upside just never felt right. I think Hopkins will be fine, he'll breakout in 2 years.
I thik he'll be average for his career and agree that Patterson looks like the better pick. I'll also agree with those who said he has trouble seperating (getting open) against NFL DBs. The black Kevin Walter <- maybe slightly better than that. I'd actually compare him to Marvin Booker both skill wise and ceiling wise. Not bad but never great.
Patterson can run after the catch...but can't catch. Nuke can catch...anything. I'll take the WR that can catch the ball. It's only Hopkins' rookie year. He's played with 3 different QBs and things are extremely turbulent in the lockerroom right now. He'll end the season with close to 800 yds, which is damn good for a rookie WR. I expected more TDs, but given our ?qB play in the red zone, it's certainly not Hopkins's fault. I like the kid. He'll be a thousand yd WR next season.
Had some stellar games to start off the season, making some insane catches....since. Nada. I had him on my FF team too.
Needs to improve on route running. He doesn't have separation speed, so needs to use sharp cuts/jukes/be physical in order to create space. He hasn't yet learned how to do that well. He also has given up on the route, or let the CB dictate the route far too often this year... again, something that could get better with time, but was also a big knock on him going into the draft. No point in having "great hands" if you're never open for the QB to look your way.
I think you have to let him make plays. Throw the ball up and let him fight for it. He's built to do that. As everyone ha said separation has been an issue, so I think you let his best tool (his hands) make up for that deficiency. He should be about to outleap most DB's in the league.
Historically the rookie year for WRs can be pretty rough. I think Hopkins has done well for the situation, nothing amazing though. Should see progress next year and then a 3rd year breakout. Still very optimistic about him, also a much better value than Austin in my opinion.
Dude is #2 in receptions and yards among rookie wide receivers (twice as many yards as Patterson). By the end of the season, he'll have more yards than any wide receiver we've had not named Andre Johnson in the last 5 years. I think he's doing just fine for a rookie. He only had 1 catch in each of the last 2 games but I think a lot of that has to do with defenses game planning against Case. Only 5 passes were completed to WRs last week, 2 of them to Andre.
There has never been a receiver that has excelled long-term by relying on jump balls... especially one who's not all that big, and without explosive leaping ability. His hands are amazing... thus he needs to work on getting separation, and having a QB that can get it close to him to gain receptions.
