Houston Texans DeAndre Hopkins joined a rare group when it come to the Madden NFL video game franchise, as it was a deserving honor.
EA Sports used Twitter to announce that four players have received the 99 overall rating — the highest rating that can be earned — on Friday, and one of those four players was Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
Others named to the 99 overall rating list were defensive players Aaron Donald (Los Angeles Rams), Khalil Mack (Chicago Bears), and Bobby Wagner (Seattle Seahawks).
The 99 overall rating for the upcoming release of the Madden NFL 20 video game is a well-deserved honor for the veteran Texans wide receiver, who will be entering his seventh NFL season, all with the Texans. In their tweet, EA Sports had this to say about Hopkins:
The most reliable hands in the league (@DeAndreHopkins) is your final member of the #99Club!
— Madden NFL 23 (@EAMaddenNFL) July 12, 2019
👐: https://t.co/xZP119BlN4
@thecheckdown x #Madden20 pic.twitter.com/w4DPiwPK5n
In the tweet, they say Hopkins has the most reliable hands in the league, and that is not just a hype effort, but true fact. Hopkins had zero dropped passes in 2018, a season where he showed the entire league he’s not just in the conversation of top wide receivers, but the very best wide receiver in the league today.
In ’18, with Deshaun Watson as his quarterback, Hopkins totaled 115 receptions for 1,572 yards, plus 11 touchdown receptions. For his career, Hopkins has collected 528 receptions for 7,437 yards and 47 touchdown receptions in six seasons.
Earlier in July, EA Sports released the rookie ratings for Madden NFL 20, where for the Texans, the highest-rated rookie was tight end Kahale Warring at 70 overall.
Year-in and year-out, Hopkins has shown he’s not just a good wide receiver, but a great wide receiver, and before having Watson as his top quarterback, Hopkins had quarterbacks that weren’t up to par with his skill set as a wide receiver.
This year, Madden got it right by not only having Hopkins as the top wide receiver in overall ratings, but the Texans wide receiver is the top-rated offensive player in the entire game.
The Texans had better realize how special of a player Hopkins is to have on their roster, and this season he’s going for not only his third consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season, but going for the 1,000-plus yard mark for the fifth time in the past six seasons.