The Houston Texans are coming off their best off-season in years.
The franchise hired former Defensive Rookie of the Year and franchise favorite DeMeco Ryans as their sixth full-time coach, spent over $40 million in free agency, and selected quarterback C.J. Stroud and defensive end Will Anderson second and third overall in the 2023 NFL draft.
They have their franchise cornerstones on offense and defense and a caliber of coaching staff that inspires far more confidence than either David Culley or Lovie Smith did. However, despite all this improvement, there is still an overarching narrative that the Texans are not ready to yet compete for the AFC South and that the roster needs even greater improvements. There is even one specific weakness that detractors point to.
The Texans desperately need a No. 1 wide receiver on their roster.
Robert Woods’ best days are behind him, Nico Collins is still firmly in the project territory, and both John Metchie and Tank Dell likely lack the necessary physical skillset to consistently win on the perimeter in the NFL. It’s a solid receiving group but one that lacks a truly premier option to win against NFL secondaries.
The attention has largely been focused on the 2024 offseason with the possibility Houston could either use Cleveland’s first round pick on a pass-catcher or their ample cap space to sign or trade for one during the early stages of that offseason. Of course, that would still leave Houston without a strong receiving option for Stroud’s debut season. It begs the question: what if Houston could skip the line?
Enter former Texans star DeAndre Hopkins.
DeAndre Hopkins would give the Houston Texans a legitimate #1 wideout, a player who can reliably move the chains on 3rd & long, and puts C.J. Stroud's development in the fast lane. If he's even remotely interested in returning, you listen.
Just no chance he would be #WeAreTexans
— John Crumpler (@JohnHCrumpler) May 26, 2023
Hopkins was cut by the Arizona Cardinals this on May 26 in a bit of a shocking move. The former star wideout had 1,407 receiving yards during his first season with the NFC team but never played more than 10 games in either 2021 or 2022 while his production absolutely suffered between his own injuries and that of Kyler Murray.
Would there be any merit to potentially reuniting Hopkins with his old team? On the surface, it could make a ton of sense for Houston.
While on the field last season, Hopkins was still one of the best receivers in football. The Cardinals still attempted to run their offense through the wideout with a ridiculous 94 targets in nine games last season. Unfortunately, it would be the lowest yards per target of his career at 7.5 with the atrocious backup quarterback play in Arizona.
Hopkins would immediately provide Houston with the best receiver on their roster and a player who can win on third-and-long situations in a way that the rest of the team could not. His elite catch radius, route running, and overall attention he demands from the defense would help the entire offense in a few ways.
Running backs Dameon Pierce and Devin Singletary would be friendlier looks in the run game, akin to the boost Josh Jacobs received with the Las Vegas Raiders last season when Davante Adams arrived. Woods, Collins, and Dell would all be able to thrive seeing a corner one spot inferior on the depth chart than previously projected. Life would also become a lot easier for offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik.
@DeAndreHopkins wassuppppp???
— Laremy Tunsil (@KingTunsil78) May 26, 2023
As things currently stand, Slowik is going to be asked to proverbially only “eat what he can kill” during passing downs. The team has no true burner and is relying on exceptional route running and schematics to win from their current group of players. Hopkins presence would provide some easy first down looks and a player that could be trusted with confidence to win in one-on-one situations. Almost like having frozen food in the freezer for Slowik to prepare if the rest of the offense is having a bad day offensively.
It then could not be understated how much the move could potentially aid the development of Stroud.
In the past five seasons, there are a myriad of examples of quarterbacks taking a huge leap forward when premier receiving talent was added to the roster — Dak Prescott with Amari Cooper, Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs, Kyler Murray with DeAndre Hopkins, Tua Tagovailoa with Tyreek Hill, and Jalen Hurts with A.J. Brown this past season.
Dak Prescott, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Kyler Murray, Joe Burrow & Jalen Hurts
What do these 6 names have in common…?
Each had an elite wide receiver on the roster when they emerged as consensus franchise quarterbacks. Why can’t Houston jump to Step 2? #WeAreTexans pic.twitter.com/bpIC5cTsQc
— John Crumpler (@JohnHCrumpler) May 28, 2023
Each of those quarterbacks entered the year as one caliber of quarterback and exited on an entirely different tier, with a renowned sense of confidence from their teams, after acquiring great receiver play. Skipping straight to this step would allow Stroud to operate with confidence in difficult passing downs while he grew comfortable with the rest of the playbook.
The non-football items become a little more difficult in the Hopkins discussion.
Hopkins has expressed a desire to join a team capable of competing for the Super Bowl and has said he would prefer to avoid rookie quarterback play. That likely leaves Houston far out of play. However, it’s also well reported that Hopkins would like to cash in on another pay day. That would leave the Texans as one of a handful of NFL teams that could make a legitimately enticing offer.
Would Ryans and general manager Nick Caserio be willing to invest serious financial resources towards a player on the back half of his career and one that has never been invested in practicing? That wouldn’t seem to go with the general methodology. It may be possible to ignore it within the context of needing to aid Stroud as they hope he becomes the future of the franchise.
Shameless attention grab from DeAndre Hopkins on the story, have to love it though.
Obviously “short-term memory” on the dash means no hard feelings?? pic.twitter.com/IAqSv4dCrj
— John Crumpler (@JohnHCrumpler) May 27, 2023
There’s a scenario where an Odell Beckham-like deal, who received one-year and $15 million worth up to $18 million with incentives, could be beneficial for both parties. Even a two year deal where Hopkins can come off the books in 2025 as Houston transitions to true Super Bowl aspirations and has had time to find a younger option to play the No. 1 receiving role.
Who knows if the receiver would even be interested in returning? As long as he’s posting cryptic stories on his Instagram and remains available in the free agent market, it may not be the worst idea for Houston to inquire about his services.
