Deandre Hopkins - WR, Clemson

Post your vids and thoughts on Deandre Hopkins, WR Clemson here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTJjRlGOCjk[video=youtube;oTJjRlGOCjk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTJjRlGOCjk[/video]

DeAndre Hopkins WR, Clemson (Games Watched: 2012 - Florida, Auburn, 2011 - NC State, Florida State


Florida St
- deep TD on safety mistake
- I like how he concentrated on the deep catch
- strong after the catch
- good cuts with ball. good YAC, beats jam too
- completes his routes, does NOT get mistimed by CB attempts. Important for our WCO.

NC State
- more curls and comebacks that deep routes so far
- beats Amerson on short curl
- I've seen two drops on him being hit. don't like that.
- nice double move to win deep. doesn't seem fast, but nice routes. deep TD (on Amerson?)
- drops another ball with contact... possible Defensive PI
- Hopkins half-asses effort to get to deep ball. If it's not right in stride, he doesn't look to want it.
- high balls, he pulls up a BIT, definitely aware of hit coming. He doesn't see to mind once he has the ball, but when exposed during cathcing, especially with back turned, , he seems shy about getting hit

GA Tech
- loses positioning and physical battle in endzone on fade. HATE that. This is a disposition thing. If you are too ****ing passive, I don;t want you in my endzone. We need TDs and guys who will kill, maim and murder to get that ball when it's up for grabs.
- WHOA.. turns a medium pass into a LONG TD. finds a lane and ACCELRATES. Pulls away. how fast IS he? Faster than I thought I guess? great ACCELRATION for sure despite so-so top speed.
- damn he has good open field YAC
- iff covered tightly, ALWAYS falls forward for more yards.
- if he has space, he gains a CHUNK of YAC
- then a few good catches in traffic... good over the shoulder catches too

Other teams too (S Carolina, Boston College)

- if it is tipped, or off target, if it doesn't come in perfectly, he doesn;t make the touch catch. Needs an accurate ball, and won't make your throws look better or make your QB look better than he is.

- doesn;t use blockers well though.

- tracks deep ball well in the air and adjusts his running to get under it. good over the shoulder catches
- body aware, sideline aware, nice toe taps
- good on screens for first downs

What intrigues me about Hopkins is he can play perimeter and be a deep threat, but he is also very good at YAC on screens and slants. I think he would take Bess' job and produce more, with more flexibility, and play outside far more than Bess could. A slot guy with amazing outside potential too. I don;t see him as a #1 WR though. More of a complement to a great WR corps if we pick up several guys... Jennings, Hopkins and Bailey would be amazing.

Interesting player. I'd be okay with him in the top of the second round. If we could get Stedman Bailey with our second second rounder. He looks like a great fit for this offense.

 

Fair point.. and to ne honest, I write these stream of consciousness as I watch and I even found myself swaying on that by later i the game when he DID make some nice adjustments to get to balls... you'll notice I said this here:

So yeah, the truth is probably in between somewhere.

Certainly he did what Hartline didn't do on that almost TD throw that missed him by 24 inches.

Superior to Hartline in terms of adjusting to slightly 'off' throws? Definitely.

 

Yeah, I mean, even reading it, a lot is self contradictory as I get comfortable developing an opinions on the player...

Notice I say he can't use blockers, then a moment later I say he is good on WR screens. How could both be true? lol. Well, they *were* both true for the plays I saw.

Perhaps we could say Deandre is self-contradictory in his play, at times.

This is probably another guy I need to see even more of. It;'s weird that way. some players I get a good handle on in two, three games of cut ups... other players, I can watch six games and STILL feel I have a fluid, changing opinion of them.