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Baltimore Ravens wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
If the Baltimore Ravens are to bounce back from consecutive losses to AFC north foes, they’re going to have to do it by using every asset they have available to the.
That includes veteran wide receiver and 5-time NFL All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins, who registered zero catches in a 27-22 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14.
Hopkins has been criminally underused this season. He’s played in all 13 games and the game against the Steelers was the second time this season where he’s gone without a catch. The other was also a loss, to the Kansas City Chiefs, in Week 4.
Hopkins, 33 years old, has 17 receptions for 257 yards and 2 touchdowns. He’s averaging 15.1 yards per reception.
It might make sense to get him a few more targets in the final 4 games if the Ravens want to have any chance of making the playoffs.
“Dhop has made catches this year that no one else in the Ravens WR room is capable of making,” Purple Reign Podcast’s Sutton Def wrote on X on December 12. “Yet, they won’t draw up more ways to get him involved smh.”
In a Week 13 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Hopkins became just the 18th player in NFL history with 1,000 career receptions.
“1000 career receptions for DeAndre Hopkins,” Austin Pendergrist wrote on X. “Get this man a gold jacket.”
Hopkins Called ‘Best Free Agent Steal’
In Baltimore on a 1-year, $5 million contract — Hopkins already has $139.4 million in career earnings — the thought was he could represent an incredible value as a viable WR2 or WR3 option behind Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman.
Hopkins, even with his underuse, has pretty much lived up to his end of the bargain and is third on the team in receiving. Bateman (18 receptions, 217 yards, 2 touchdowns) and bumbling tight end Isaiah Likely have been the real disappointments in terms of the passing game.
Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon put Hopkins at the top of his list of the NFL’s “Best Free Agent Steals” in the preseason.
“The five-time Pro Bowler was one of the best receivers in the sport during his prime,” Gagnon wrote. “Now he’s essentially a journeyman at age 33. This could be the right place at the right time for Hopkins.”
“This is Football” podcast host Kevin Clark warned Ravens fans about getting too excited about Hopkins at the start of training camp after he made an impressive, one-handed catch.
“Hopkins … I think we’re about done with Hopkins,” Clark said on July 25. “The pendulum has swung too far. Sometimes practice matters, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s all about context.”
Hopkins Dominated Opponents for Years
Drafted in the first round (No. 27 overall) out of Clemson by the Houston Texans in the 2013 NFL draft, Hopkins had 7 seasons of at least 1,000 receiving yards in the first decade of his career, including 3 seasons with over 1,300 receiving yards from 2017 to 2020.
The last 5 years of his career have mostly been defined by his time not playing football. He missed 7 games in 2021 due to a torn MCL and missed 8 games in 2022, including a 6-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on using performance-enhancing drugs.
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame
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