DeAndre

Hopkins

Hopkins joined the Titans on a two-year, $26 million deal in the offseason after Arizona released him. Though Tennessee’s offense imploded as they attempted to transition from a declining Ryan Tannehill to rookie Will Levis, Hopkins made the most of a bad situation for his counting stats by dominating the receiving work no matter who Mike Vrabel put under center. Hopkins’ 1,057 receiving yards were over 500 more than anyone else on the roster. He added seven touchdown grabs on 75 receptions. Though the Titans could move on from him in the offseason as they look to get younger, without Hopkins to soak up targets, it would be hard to give Levis or anyone else a fair evaluation. Even if they aren’t competing for a Super Bowl next year, Hopkins will help Vrabel and company see what they have in Levis in his first year as the full-time starter. Tennessee will add receiving talent, likely via the draft, in the offseason, but Hopkins enters 2024 as the clear No. 1 receiver for his team.

Though 72 scoreless yards don’t sound like much to write home about, Hopkins accounted for over half of his team’s production through the air. As has been the case all year, he was the only pass-catcher his quarterbacks could reliably find open. Will Levis’s status for Week 18 is up in the air because of a foot injury. However, both Tennessee quarterbacks know who their No. 1 receiver is. Hopkins will rank as a low-end WR2 no matter who starts versus the Jags next week.

Ryan Tannehill was under pressure for much of the game, but targeting Hopkins only four times is inexcusable. There were two defensive pass interference calls that do not count towards that, including one on the Titans’ touchdown drive that put them up 17-13 in the fourth quarter. While that does speak to Hopkins’ impact on the game, he was simply not on the same page with Tannehill and was visibly frustrated a few times on Sunday. Luckily for fantasy managers with Hopkins, Will Levis figures to return next week just in time for the Titans to face a Texans secondary that just got destroyed by Joe Flacco and Amari Cooper.

A 43 percent target share didn’t mean much for Hopkins on a down day for the Tennessee offense. Will Levis was miserably inaccurate for most of the game and forced a few throws to Hopkins when other Titans wideouts were running wide open in the open field. Hopkins, coming off a 12-target performance against the Dolphins in Week 14, should continue running as Tennessee’s alpha receiver next week against the Seahawks.

Per usual, Hopkins was the alpha and omega of the Titans’ passing attack. He logged a 32 percent target share and remained impossible to guard despite facing off against some of the league’s best versus Miami. Levis looked for him on short throws, deep shots, targets over the middle of the field, and strikes the boundary. Hopkins tallied three catches for 45 yards and a touchdown on the Titans’ final two drives of the night, helping them secure the upset win over Miami. Dominating the targets for his team. Hopkins will rank as a high-end WR2 for his Week 15 matchup with the Texans.

Per usual, Hopkins dominated the targets for the Titans’ offense. His 12 looks were good for a 36 percent target share. Hopkins caught his fifth touchdown of the season on a three-yard reception near the goal line. All five of his scores have come with Will Levis under center. Hopkins will rank as a WR2 for his Week 13 matchup with the Dolphins.

Hopkins tied for the team lead with Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and TE Chigoziem Okonkwo with five targets. Sunday marked the fourth straight week Hopkins was held under 60 yards and he hasn’t had more than four catches since Week 5. Hopkins will take a 45/699/4 line into a Week 13 matchup vs the Colts.

Nearly all of Hopkins’ production came on a single catch. He got behind the Jaguars’ defense for a 49-yard score on a trick play that started with Derrick Henry in the wildcat. After multiple exchanges of the football, Will Levis chucked it deep to a wide-open Hopkins. Hopkins continued to dominate the targets for Tennessee, but it’s getting increasingly difficult to trust him with every game Levis plays. He will sit on the WR2/3 border for Week 12 against the Panthers.

Hopkins’ biggest play came when he broke up a Will Levis interception in the end zone on a tipped ball. Levis has been feeding his No. 1 wideout looks, but it hasn’t resulted in meaningful production since Hopkins’ 4/128/3 Week 8. He does have 19 targets over the past two weeks. That’s a set-and-forget WR2 workload. The Jaguars aren’t the world’s best matchup for Week 11.

Hopkins’ carry was actually an intended pass play that wasn’t open, prompting the veteran wide receiver to tuck the football and turn a busted play into a five-yard gain down the right sideline. While the 11 targets were a welcome sight to fantasy managers that enjoyed Hopkins’ three-touchdown game in Week 8, the four catches left a lot to be desired from an end result perspective. Either way, Hopkins is clearly rookie quarterback Will Levis’ go-to target, which could come in handy down the stretch as the Titans fight to sneak into the post season.