DeAndre Hopkins is first-team All-Pro for 3rd straight year

DeAndre Hopkins of the Houston Texans is now a three-time first-team All-Pro player, and maybe the best is yet to come.

How great is DeAndre Hopkins of the Houston Texans? Each and every week, in every single game he plays, the opposition puts their very best defender and then some on him, and the talented wide receiver continues to be one of the very best in the entire league.

That was the case on Friday as The Associated Press released their annual All-Pro list, and the two first-team players selected at wide receiver were Hopkins and Michael Thomas of the New Orleans Saints. Hopkins is now a three-time first-team All-Pro, and he was also a second-team All-Pro in ’15.

This regular season, Hopkins had 104 receptions for 11.2 yards per reception and seven touchdowns in 15 games. Last season (2018), Hopkins played in 16 games with 115 receptions for 13.7 ypr with 11 touchdowns. In ’17, Hopkins totaled 96 receptions for 1,378 yards, 14.4 ypr and 13 touchdowns.

It was evident that Hopkins was a target of the opposing defenses this season with players like Jalen Ramsey, Stephon Gilmore, Marlon Humphrey, Chris Harris, Marcus Peters and Marshon Lattimore, to name a few.

Those are some of the very best cornerbacks in all of the NFL, so the competition Hopkins has faced this season was at an All-Pro level too with Gilmore, Humphrey and Peters all earning first-team All-Pro honors this season as well.

In the Wild Card playoff round this Saturday, Hopkins will be facing another All-Pro, with the Buffalo Bills having Tre’Davious White on the opposing side of Hopkins.

Though the numbers of Hopkins weren’t as strong as they were a season ago, Hopkins’ overall play didn’t decrease as the Texans offense was much improved from last season. The Texans had the help of Will Fuller and Kenny Stills at wide receiver this year, plus the addition of running backs Carlos Hyde and Duke Johnson also took some of the yards away from Hopkins.

Hopkins is deserving of first-team honors for a third straight season, and he continues to be a better player than the previous season, whether it shows up on the stat sheet or whether he takes a lot of the pressure off his teammates.

The Texans had better be thankful for Hopkins each and every day he’s on the roster because without him, the AFC South championship wouldn’t reside in Houston, and the Texans wouldn’t be playing in the playoffs this weekend.