DeAndre Hopkins proving summer haters wrong in key category for Titans
DeAndre Hopkins may have yet to score a touchdown with the Tennessee Titans but don't write him off as being "washed" just yet. When the Titans first signed Hopkins to a 2-year, $26M deal back in July, fans across the league didn't show much faith in the 31-year-old NFL veteran and he took that personally: […]
DeAndre Hopkins may have yet to score a touchdown with the Tennessee Titans but don't write him off as being "washed" just yet.
When the Titans first signed Hopkins to a 2-year, $26M deal back in July, fans across the league didn't show much faith in the 31-year-old NFL veteran and he took that personally:
However, now fans will have a reason to believe in Hopkins because while the former first-round may not be putting points on the board for Tennessee, he is making up for the hefty contract he signed in another way–by converting third downs.
In Sunday's win over the Cincinnati Bengals, Hopkins had three third-down catches that converted into first-downs and kept Tennessee's offense alive. He heads into Week 5 tied for the lead in the AFC with eight first-down catches on third downs.
One of those catches from Sunday's win was a 38-yard pass from Ryan Tannehill halfway through the second quarter that ultimately resulted in a scoring drive and gave the Titans a 10-3 lead.
"I went out and had a ball I felt like I should have caught,” Hopkins said after the game on the end zone pass that he missed in the first quarter. “It got caught in the sun, but for me, that's no excuse. I just knew the next time I got a chance, I was going to make a play, and Ryan trusted me.
"I do feel like that's kind of what got the offense going and the momentum going, and it's a momentum league.”
Despite reeling in zero touchdowns against the Bengals, Hopkins finished the day with four catches for 63 yards, which still set the Titans up for success.
"We've needed some conversions, we've gotten them from Hop in some big opportunities," Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said in his post-game presser. "So I know that the production will continue to come, but when we've needed a play, he's come up huge."
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