There was a time, not too long ago, when DeAndre Hopkins wasn’t just one of the best wide receives in the NFL. He was the very best.
While that time has now come and gone, if Hopkins can conjure up just a little bit of that magic for the Baltimore Ravens in 2025, it could wind up being one of the keys to his team winning the Super Bowl.
In Baltimore on a 1-year, $5 million contract — Hopkins already has $139.4 million in career earnings — he could represent an incredible value if he’s a viable WR2 or WR3 option for the Ravens behind Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman.
That’s why Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon put Hopkins at the top of his list of the NFL’s “Best Free Agent Steals” in 2025.
“The five-time Pro Bowler was one of the best receivers in the sport during his prime,” Gagnon wrote. “Now he’s essentially a journeyman at age 33. This could be the right place at the right time for Hopkins.”
Not Everyone Sold on Hopkins Comeback
“This is Football” podcast host Kevin Clark warned Ravens Fans about getting too excited about Hopkins at the start of training camp after he made an impressive, one-handed catch over cornerback Jaire Alexander during practice.
“Hopkins … I think we’re about done with Hopkins,” Clark said on July 25. “The pendulum has swung too far. Sometimes practice matters, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s all about context.”
The problem with Hopkins at his last few stops seems to be more with public perception — and memory — of him than what he actually brings to the table.
Hopkins is no longer the 5-time NFL All-Pro and 5-time Pro Bowler he was during his heyday in the 2010s with the Houston Texans but should be looked at more as a high upside WR2 or WR 3 option.
What Success on Ravens Looks Like for Hopkins
One advantage Hopkins has in Baltimore is he joins one of the NFL’s already-established great offenses and doesn’t have to be the Alpha Dog.
Those responsibilities go to 2-time NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson and NFL All-Pro running back Derrick Henry, who rushed for 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns in his first season in Baltimore in 2024.
In the passing game, the Ravens not only have a 1,000 yard wide receiver back in Zay Flowers but have another potential star in Rashod Bateman and 2 elite tight ends in Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, whenever he returns from a foot fracture.
That means for what he’s being paid in 2025, getting the type of production out of Hopkins he had last season with the Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs with a combined 56 receptions for 610 yards and 5 touchdowns should probably be considered a success.
Hopkins Had Brilliant Run With Texans
Drafted in the first round (No. 27 overall) out of Clemson by the Texans in the 2013 NFL draft, Hopkins had 7 seasons of at least 1,000 receiving yards in the first decade of his career, including 3 seasons with over 1,300 receiving yards from 2017 to 2020.
The last 5 years of his career have mostly been defined by his time not playing football. Hopkins missed 7 games in 2021 due to a torn MCL and missed 8 games in 2022, including a 6-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on using performance-enhancing drugs.
