The Baltimore Ravens are looking like geniuses for signing Deandre Hopkins to a one-year, $5 million deal. The 33-year-old receiver has been crushing it so far, and his teammates are loving every minute of it. Especially Derrick Henry, who’s thrilled that people still think Hopkins is “washed” – his words, not mine.
Henry recently said, “I hope they continue to call him ‘washed’… because this s**t is working. We need it.” And honestly, who can blame him? The guy’s still got it, even if he’s not playing every snap. In Week 1, Hopkins was targeted just twice in 18 snaps, but he made the most of it, hauling in two catches for 35 yards and a touchdown. And in Week 2, he was targeted twice in 10 snaps, with two catches for 64 yards and another touchdown.
The stigma of being an older player in the league is real, and Henry acknowledges it. “Everyone knows this stigma, when you get up there, suddenly something has changed,” he said. But Hopkins is proving that he’s still a force to be reckoned with, even if he’s not playing as much as he used to.
Ravens OC Todd Monken is also a big fan of Hopkins, saying, “We’ll just continue to feed him… with every day, I think his package will continue to grow as we go forward. And we need to have that, because he’s a great football player. The more we can get him on the field, the better we are.”
And the numbers back it up – despite limited opportunities, Hopkins has 99 receiving yards, second on the team behind Zay Flowers. Not bad for a guy who’s supposed to be “washed”. The Ravens are back in action on Monday night against the Lions, and I’m excited to see what Hopkins can do next.
