For years the Texans had been looking for someone who could be a viable target across from Andre Johnson. After Week 2, DeAndre Hopkins looks like he is the real deal. This makes him one of this week's top waiver wire pickups.
Before the start of the regular season, Hopkins' preseason was anything but ideal. Hopkins started off the preseason on a high note by catching four passes for 52 yards and a touchdown against the Vikings. But Hopkins wound up suffering a concussion the next week against the Dolphins.
It would later be reported that this wasn't Hopkins first blow with a head injury. While at Clemson, Hopkins suffered a concussion in an automobile accident on his way to Memorial Stadium for the Orange Bowl against West Virginia. Considering this was his second concussion, it took a couple weeks before Hopkins was finally cleared to practice just a few days before the team's first regular season game against the Chargers.
It's hard to gauge how well a rookie receiver is going to do in his first NFL year. Unlike rookie running backs, who you know will touch the ball eventually, starting a rookie receiver in fantasy football is a bit unsettling. This is probably one of the reasons why so many left him on the waiver wire going into Week 2, even though he posted 5 catches for 66 yards against the Chargers in Week 1. Many may have thought it was a mere fluke.
His value will skyrocket after his Week 2 performance. Johnson left the game against the Titans deep in the fourth quarter with, what turned about to be, a concussion. Overall, Hopkins ended the win with 7 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. A touchdown that sealed the Titans' fate. It was then that Hopkins showed he can be THE guy without someone else across from him.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
I was kind of surprised to see Hopkins still on the waiver wire in so many leagues after his Week One performance. Like I said before, rookie fantasy receivers are hard to judge. But when you have one who is starting, starting across from a stud I might add, you have to take a chance on him. DeAndre Hopkins isn't Kevin Walter. Walter was "okay," but he severely lacked the play-making abilities we saw from Hopkins Sunday. As long as health is on his side, Hopkins is easily a WR3 going forward for the rest of the year. It's clear that Matt Schaub trusts his new rookie weapon.