It is never too early to begin thinking about fantasy football and potential sleeper picks heading into 2014. With the NFL Draft over and most free agents picked up, rosters are relatively set for the upcoming season. Several players could be on the brink of a big year and DeAndre Hopkins is hoping he is one of them. The Houston Texans wide receiver suffered his fair share of rookie mistakes last year, but with Andre Johnson nowhere to be found, he is the automatic No. 1 guy and could develop into a star.
Hopkins is admitting that he was frustrated with his rookie season. The first-round draft pick in 2013 was expected to be the second coming of Johnson for the Texans, but he suffered some inconsistencies throughout the season. He still managed to put up 802 yards and two touchdowns, but the receiver is not satisfied.
"I'm nowhere close to where I want to be," Hopkins said, via the team website. "Not even close. I have a lot of things I need to work on and I'm doing that this offseason."
The pressure is on Hopkins right now. Entering OTAs, he is the default No. 1 wide receiver. Andre Johnson is not in good standings with the team right now and while he could play the season for the Texans, he could also be traded tomorrow. The receiver has already said he is not thrilled with the Texans and would not turn down a move. The longer he holds out, the more Houston explores a trade. The Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and New England Patriots could all be landing spots.
Right now, Hopkins is busy trying to avoid discussions of a trade involving his teammate and learn the new offense head coach Bill O'Brien is putting into place. He credits Johnson for helping him transition, but since the veteran is not there right now, it is all on Hopkins to pick things up quickly.
"It's not been easy; I'm not going to lie," Hopkins said. "It's a new playbook, you have to refocus, you have to do everything you did your rookie year all over again, but I feel like I know how to prepare better than last year, just going out and learning from Andre (Johnson) and doing things like that, and I feel like I'm becoming a better player overall."
The one factor holding Hopkins back is the quarterback carousel currently happening in Houston. O'Brien has said that every quarterback on the roster will have a chance to work with the first-team and the best player will be chosen to start. That could be veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick or rookie Tom Savage. Not having a consistent quarterback throwing passes could hurt Hopkins' development. Despite the quarterback issue, O'Brien has had nothing but praise towards his wide receiver who he believes has big upside.
"He's a hard worker," O'Brien said. "He's a young player. This is a brand new system for him so it's difficult because he had a rookie year, now he's having to learn a new system. I think he's working really hard. He takes the coaching well. He's a big guy. He's a physical player. He's learning a new way of doing things relative to our offense and I think he comes out there and tries to get better every day."
