When you think of who is most deserving of the MVP award this year, a few names come up; Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees, etc. One name that never comes up, however, is DeAndre Hopkins. DeAndre Hopkins is most definitely elite, although is he an MVP candidate? The answer is yes, here’s why.



DeAndre Hopkins finished with the best season of his 6 year career, pulling in 115 catches for 1572 yards, and 11 scores. The mind boggling statistic not being his monster year, but that Hopkins had not dropped a pass all year. For a receiver with his level of production, a stat such as that is almost unheard of around the NFL.





Hopkins was not only was elite the entire year, but was an incredible weapon for the Texans. Battling a shoulder, ankle, heel and calf injury nearly all year, Hopkins missed practices, was on the injury report nearly every week, but never missed a game. Hopkins is maybe the most reliable player a team can ask for, being present for over 99% of Houston’s snaps. In fact, Hopkins was never in a game for less than 96% of Houston’s plays, that tally coming off Houston’s week 14 meeting where Hopkins had to be carried off the field but still put up 10 grabs for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns.



While “Nuk” Hopkins stats’ are incredible game to game, his stats for this season are something else. PFF, or Pro Football Focus is a ranking service that takes into account every snap played to formulate a ranking, 1 to 100 to reflect the true quality of the player. The Clemson product led all receivers with a ranking of 92.5, the highest ranking given to a receiver since 2006. Also coming from PFF, the amount of separation between a receiver and defender when a ball is caught can be classified, and is brought into account when making a rating for a player. No player in the NFL caught more passes in ‘tight’ separation than Hopkins. This stat proves that number 10 is always open, no matter how tight defenders play him.





Considering the fact that Hopkins is almost always in tight coverage, with little to no exception, Hopkins’ route running has shined. Being targeted on a whopping 33% of pass plays this year, there is no stopping this star receiver. Hopkins will find a way to get open, and make the grab as he has done all year. Finally, in closing, Hopkins has been making the best of his receptions. Averaging 2.47 yards per route run, he ranks 6th in the league, topped only by deep threats such as Tyreek Hill and T.Y. Hilton. While keeping Hopkins snap ratio in mind, this stat is mind boggling, proving that defenders truly have no answer for Hopkins.



In summary, Hopkins had a year for the ages. From his insane PFF ranking, to not dropping a single pass no receiver is on the same level as Hopkins. DeAndre Hopkins, is not only leaps and bounds above every other receiver in the league, an MVP candidate.



