Time to buy low on DeAndre Hopkins: Why the Titans receiver is back on the rise after knee injury
NASHVILLE – Week 3 against the Green Bay Packers was the breakout performance for wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins that Tennessee Titans fans had been waiting for. After suffering a partially torn MCL in the first week of training camp, Hopkins has been limited in all three games to start the 2024 season. The future Hall […]
NASHVILLE – Week 3 against the Green Bay Packers was the breakout performance for wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins that Tennessee Titans fans had been waiting for.
After suffering a partially torn MCL in the first week of training camp, Hopkins has been limited in all three games to start the 2024 season. The future Hall of Fame wide receiver caught just one pass in Weeks 1 and 2, and while he had six catches for 73 yards and a touchdown in Week 3, his snap count was still surprisingly low.
Hopkins only played 25 offensive snaps on Sunday. That's four less snaps than he played in Week 2 against the Jets and still less than 50 percent of Tennessee's total offensive plays.
Traditional logic would tell me to be concerned that Hopkins hasn't returned to normal usage nearly a month into the regular season. But I'm actually more optimistic about his trajectory with those snap numbers in mind.
With time, Hopkins will be more included in the offense. Offensive coordinator Nick Holz told the media that the target for Hopkins is for him to play over 50 percent of the snaps consistently. More targets will come with more snaps, and as we saw on Sunday, Hopkins is going to make plays when the ball comes his way.
"I think if you get him over 50 [snaps] and really in the flow of all the third downs, red zones, all those crucial situations, we'd love to keep building on that," said Holz.
I thought the veteran wide out looked more like his old self on his six catches from Sunday than he did running routes in previous games. The 73-yard effort came after wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert informed me that Hopkins had one of his best practices of the year in the days leading up to game day.
The current line for DeAndre Hopkins receiving yards against the Dolphins on Monday Night Football is 35.5 (BetMGM.com).
I have to assume the Titans are going to continue getting him involved after the success he had against Green Bay. I would take that over without hesitation.
The version of Hopkins we saw against Green Bay is going to be the guy we see for the rest of the season. He may not need to play 70+ percent of snaps to be productive. As long as the Titans can get him some targets, that alone will boost the offense by a significant chunk.
Brian Callahan’s answer for the Titans problems doesn’t tell the full story
More to the Titans struggles.
