Thursday, May 2, 2013

1.07 Arizona Outlaws - WR DeAndre Hopkins

In the real world: Last year, as a junior, Hopkins racked up 1,405 yards and 18 TD in 2012. He faced three SEC teams—Auburn, South Carolina and (in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl) LSU, and had 27 receptions for 353 yards and 4 TD, so it's not like he padded his stats against creampuffs. At 6'1”, 214 lb., he has been compared to Falcons WR Roddy White (although White is faster) and also Reggie Wayne (who, like Hopkins, fell to near the end of Round 1 because he didn't have outstanding size or speed, but had a terrific career with the Colts). Another thing Hopkins has in common with Wayne: being drafted by a team that had a long-established veteran WR. He lands into a great job situation with the Texans, who have 10-year veteran Andre Johnson but not much else. Similar to how Wayne ultimately took the #1 receiver job on the Colts from Marvin Harrison, so could Hopkins do the same vs. Johnson (or at least be the 1B to Johnson's 1A).
In the TUFF world: Last year, the Outlaws ended their long-running quarterback nightmare by drafting Robert Griffin III. The next step for them was to shore up the WR corps, and Hopkins is a big step in that direction. Sidney Rice has been healthy in only one of the last three seasons, and Kenny Britt, for all his talent, has never even had an 800-yard season, let alone a 1,000-yarder. 'Zona didn't have much at WR besides those two to begin with.

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