On Thursday, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins of Clemson, South Carolina made National Football League headlines when he said “I know I’m the best,” according to Nick Selbe of Sports Illustrated. However, one could make the serious argument that Hopkins did not necessarily play up to his potential in 2019. Hopkins saw a drop in his statistics in 2019 compared to 2018. Two seasons ago, Hopkins had career highs in yards (1572) and receptions (115). In 2019, Hopkins had 104 catches for 1165 yards. So where does Hopkins actually should rank among the receivers in the NFL? If you go by the 2019 statistics in wide receiver fantasy football points, Hopkins is only eighth. Here are the top five.
5) Julio Jones–Atlanta Falcons–The native of Foley, Alabama was selected to the Pro Bowl for the sixth straight season in 2019. There is no doubt that Jones has developed chemistry over the years with Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and is still showing great skills at age 31. In 2019, he caught 99 passes for 1394 yards and six touchdowns.
4) Cooper Kupp–Los Angeles Rams–It might have been a bit an off-year for the Rams in 2019, but it was not for Cooper Kupp of Yakima, Washington, who became the Rams top receiver last season. Kupp had 94 catches for 1161 yards and 10 touchdowns.
3) Kenny Golladay–Detroit Lions–In only his third NFL season, the native of Chicago, Illinois found himself a favourite target of Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford. Hed led the NFL in touchdown catches (11) to go along with 65 catches and 1190 yards. Who knows how good Golladay could have been if Stafford would have been healthy the entire season? The Lions quarterback only played eight games in 2019 because of a spine fracture.
2) Chris Godwin–Tampa Bay Buccaneers–There is no doubt that the native of Philadelphia had a fabulous 2019 season. He had 86 catches for 1333 yards and nine touchdowns with Jameis Winston as the Buccaneers quarterback. Now with Tom Brady at the helm in Tampa Bay, it will be interesting to see if his overall production will improve in 2020 or drop slightly now that tight end Rob Gronkowski is in the mix.
1) Michael Thomas–New Orleans Saints–It was quite frankly a stupendous season for Michael Thomas in 2019, and Hopkins must have forgot about the Saints star wideout in making the bold claim. Last season, Thomas broke the NFL record for most catches in a season (149) and had 1725 receiving yards (led the NFL) and nine touchdowns. Thomas’s 107.8 yards per catch in 2019 also led the NFL.
