Fantasy Impact: Houston Texans Selects DeAndre Hopkins

With the 27th selection of the draft the Houston Texans selected wide receiver, DeAndre Hopkins (Clemson).

Hopkins is a talented pass catcher, and quite possibly the best possession receiver in this year’s class. His long arms (33 3/8”), big hands (10”) and impressive vertical (36”) give Hopkins the ability to go up and get jump balls, as well as pull in passes that appear to be out of reach. He plays much bigger than his 6’1” frame would suggest.

The biggest knock on Hopkins would have to be his speed. But a big, physical receiver with top-notch hands and unmatched route-running skills doesn’t need to be fast to make an impact. Just ask Anquan Boldin.

College statistics courtesy of Sports Reference.

Fantasy Impact: Coming into the draft, Hopkins was considered by many as a late-first, early-second round pick in rookie drafts because of his sure hands and ability to rack up the YAC.  Now that he's headed to the Texans to start opposite of Andre Johnson, he's likely to get plenty of targets from Matt Schaub and should be considered as the first rookie taken in PPR leagues.  Hopkins is going to be a fantasy stud from Day One.