Fantasy Upside
Released by the Arizona Cardinals in May, DeAndre Hopkins now lands in Tennessee where he will immediately assume the top pass catching role in front of former first-round pick Treylon Burks. After a highly disappointing 2021 season, Hopkins bounced back in a big way last year in the nine games he appeared in. Hopkins saw 96 targets over those nine games, and managed to post 717 yards and three touchdowns with below average QB play. After Hopkins returned from his suspension, he saw a 29.4% target share, which placed him fourth in the entire NFL amongst WRs. Now Hopkins will transition to catching passes from veteran Ryan Tannehill, who has historically thrived on limited volume by throwing downfield off play action due to the threat of Derrick Henry in the Titans' backfield. The Titans' offense will once again revolve around Henry this year, but the overall passing game should bounce back from last year's disaster and Hopkins will be a big part of that. While he is no longer an elite WR option, Hopkins still has plenty of juice left to be a factor for fantasy managers.
Fantasy Downside
The downside for Hopkins stems from both his age and the Titans' usual offensive philosophy. First off, Hopkins just turned 31 and is undoubtedly past his prime years at this point. This is especially noticeable after the catch, where Hopkins only managed 1.7 YAC per target last year, good for 62nd at his position. While Hopkins would appear to be the top receiving option for Tannehill heading into training camp, it would not be shocking to see Burks take another step forward this year and sap some targets from Hopkins in his second pro season. Second, there will never be an abundance of targets to distribute in Tennessee so long as they lean on Derrick Henry's rushing abilities as often as possible. The Titans once again project to be amongst the most run-heavy offenses in the league, meaning any hit to Hopkins' target share would threaten his fantasy projections significantly.
2023 Bottom Line
Hopkins is no longer a top-tier fantasy wideout, but last year showed that he still has enough explosiveness left to produce some big games. The move to Tennessee may not look ideal on paper, but Hopkins should feature prominently in the passing game for as long as he's healthy and on the field. The 2023 version of DeAndre Hopkins is no WR1, but he makes sense as a WR2 or flex option.