Everyone in the Patriots front office should be fired for the fleece the Titans did on them. The Tennessee Titans have come out victorious in their two-team race with the Pats for the coveted signature of All-Pro WR DeAndre Hopkins as the former Cardinals receiver signed a 2-year deal in Tennessee.
The Titans offense just got a whole hell of a lot better…even if Ryan Tannehill and/or Will Levis will be starting under center.
After months of speculation, DeAndre Hopkins has finally made his decision over his new team as he signed a pretty reasonable 2-year, $26M deal with the Titans as Tennessee beat out the New England Patriots to sign the 3X All-Pro wide out. And, to be honest, I think this move hurts the Patriots WAY MORE than it helps the Titans.
Don’t get me wrong, the Titans adding DeAndre Hopkins to their wide receiver core not only gives them a legit #1 wide out who has earned 3 First Team All-Pros and over 11,000 career receiving yards, but his presence fills the void in the offense left with the trade of A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles.
It is truly remarkable how vital A.J. Brown was to this Titans offense over the three years he spent with the team as even though he never amassed more than 1,075 yards in a season or 70 catches, the Titans offense was able to fully harness the power of Derrick Henry in the backfield and Brown at wide to devastating effect.
In the three seasons (2019-21) Brown was the #1 receiving option, the Titans ranked Top-5 in the NFL in terms of rushing yards per game (with the Titans being 2nd in 2020 & 3rd in 2019), ranked in the Top-12 in 2/3 seasons for total yards gained/game (12th in 2019, 3rd in 2020), the Top-15 in points scored/game (10th in 2019, 4th in 2020, 15th in 2021), Ryan Tannehill had his best ever seasons in terms of QB rating with a 117.5 in 2019 (best in career) and 106.5 (2nd best in career), Derrick Henry won the 2020 Offensive Player of the Year, he rushed for 2k+ yards in 2020, he led the league in rushing twice (2019, 2020), and he lead the league in rushing TDs twice (2019, 2020).
And, as for team success, the Titans won the AFC South Division title twice (2020, 2021), dealt the final blow in the Patriots 2010’s dynasty (beat them 20-13 in the WC game in 2019), won 11+ games twice (2020, 2021), and reached the AFC Championship game in 2019 (which they lost 35-24 to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs). Simply put, the Titans offense was devastatingly good with A.J. Brown on it.
Yet, as we saw last season after the 2022 draft-day trade that saw Brown get dealt to Philly, the Titans imploded offensively as they finished in the Bottom-10 of the NFL in passing yards/GM (3rd worst), total yards/GM (3rd worst), points scored/GM (5th worst), lost the division title race on the final game of the season to the Jaguars after going on a 7-game losing streak to finish 7-10, and missed the playoff for the first time in three years.
Adding Hopkins to the receiving core gives Tannehill and/or Levis ensures there’s a reliable deep option waiting to catch the ball in either man-to-man or double coverage when defenses inevitably stack the box on Derrick Henry (who was back to his best last season with 1,500+ yards). Plus, only paying $13M AAV to a bonified #1 wide receiver is fantastic business when you see guys like D.J. Moore ($20.6M/year) and Terry McLaurin ($23.3M/year) making nearly $10M more.
However, as for the Patriots, not signing Hopkins for Mac Jones’ development is a sin worse than Judas betraying Jesus for a bag full of silver!
As of this moment, the best wide out the Patriots have for Mac Jones to throw to and develop his deep range passing game is…an injury prone Devante Parker. Now, Parker’s not a bad option or player, but he’s nowhere near as good as Hopkins on his worse day, let alone be a top option on a playoff contender.
I just don’t know why Bill Belichick, who is the de facto GM of the Pats, thinks sticking with Parker, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kendrick Bourne, Hunter Henry, and Tyquan Thornton is good enough to contend in an AFC East division with Aaron Rodgers, Garrett Wilson (Jets), Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs (Bills), Tua Tagoviola, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle (Dolphins).
The Patriots would have been at least capable of going toe-to-toe with these teams if they had Hopkins suiting up outside, yet without him, they’re doomed. The Pats just don’t have the firepower to compete in their own division, let alone for a playoff spot as is expected by Robert Kraft.
Anyways, this is a great signing for the Titans and puts them right back into contention for the AFC South division title race.
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