DeAndre Hopkins sets another NFL team visit to New England

DeAndre Hopkins has visits lined up with Tennessee and New England now. (Photo: Kirby Lee / USATODAY)

by TigerNet Staff - Fri Jun 09 11:40:17 GMT-04:00 2023

DeAndre Hopkins' free-agent official visits are lining up and the next one stays in the AFC.

The three-time All-Pro and former Clemson standout will visit with the Tennessee Titans on Sunday and then he's off to meet with the New England Patriots next week, says NFL Network:

The Pats would be an intriguing destination for the four-time Pro Bowler.

Hopkins would provide Mac Jones with a go-to target the young quarterback sorely needs. While he's missed 15 games the past two seasons -- six via a suspension -- Hopkins remains one of the best receivers in the NFL. The 31-year-old can still beat younger DBs, and Nuk's sticky hands make him a bona fide No. 1. His contested-catch ability and size should allow him to age more gracefully than other wideouts.

The Pats haven't had a legit top-shelf receiver in years. Adding Hopkins would give Jones a player he can trust to win off the line of scrimmage, make tough grabs in traffic and be a threat in the red zone. Adding Nuk to this year's other free-agent addition, JuJu Smith-Schuster, would make New England's WR corps much better on paper in June. Signing Hopkins could also lead to the eventual release of perennial Bill Belichick dog-house tenant, Kendrick Bourne.

The other aspect of a potential Hopkins signing in New England that adds intrigue is the presence of offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien. There had been some thought that B.O.B.'s return to the Pats would take New England off Nuk's list. That the wideout is at least willing to schedule a visit indicates he's ready to consider a reunion with his former Texans coach.

New England was among the teams reportedly interested in trading for Hopkins when the Cardinals were shopping him before a late May release.

Hopkins' last 1,000-yard campaign came in 2020 (115 catches for 1,407 yards and six scores).

The three-time All-Pro saw action in at least 15 games per season up to the 2021-22 campaign with an average of 1,251 yards on 93 catches with eight touchdowns per year.

He topped out at 10 games after injury in 2021 with 42 catches for 572 yards and eight touchdowns.

Hopkins was suspended for the first six games of the 2022 season for what he said was a trace of the banned-substance Ostarine coming up in a test. He played in nine games after and tallied 64 catches for 717 yards and three scores.

Hopkins is still tied for Clemson's most career touchdown receptions (27) and he had 206 receptions for 3,020 yards and 27 touchdowns, 12 punt returns for 82 yards, and two kickoff returns for 32 yards in 2,059 snaps over 39 games (32 starts) in his Tiger career, earning All-America honors as a junior before an NFL draft first-round selection in 2013 (No. 27 by Houston).