Hopkins more than third wide receiver

After only a few OTA practices, coaches and teammates have been impressed by the vet

Ravens wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has impressed his new teammates and coaches so far this offseason. Kenneth K. Lam/Staff

Todd Monken shrugged at an inquiry about adding a 12-year veteran and former All-Pro to the most potent offense in the NFL, one that returns two solidified starting wide receivers and a pair of proven pass-catching tight ends.

“We’ll see,” he said. “It’s Day 4.”

The Ravens signed DeAndre Hopkins to a one-year, $6 million contract in March and he’s only been out on the field with his new team for four practices during organized team activities. But there’s a consensus among the early returns on how Hopkins can, at this stage of his career, contribute to a Super Bowl contender.

Hopkins is the third veteran wide receiver in three years brought in to complement the young duo of Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman. Odell Beckham Jr. spent the 2023 season in Baltimore and Nelson Agholor played a similar mentor role each of the past two seasons. The former caught 35 passes for 565 yards and the latter, Monken said Tuesday, was viewed as the third receiver on the depth chart.“I don’t really see DHop as our third receiver,” Monken said. “I see it more as we have three starters.”

The 32-year-old was traded after Week 7 last year from the Tennessee Titans to the Super Bowl runner-up Kansas City Chiefs. He was never a true difference-maker in that offense and finished the season with 56 catches for 610 yards and five touchdowns. But Hopkins is only one year removed from a 1,000-yard season and, in the tiniest of sample sizes from voluntary practices run less than full speed, Ravens decision-makers see signs of what he could be.

“He’s going to be a big-body, contested-catch receiver for us, certainly,” coach John Harbaugh said last week. “He’s moving great.”

That only sounds like coachspeak until looking at the players who clocked the top speeds from the team’s second OTA practice last week, which Hopkins posted to his Instagram story, accompanied by a jab at those who say he’s lost a step.

Undrafted free agent cornerback Marquise Robinson was alone at the top of that leaderboard with 20.2 mph next to his name. Receivers Devontez Walker and Hopkins were right behind him, each notching 20.0.

Flowers, who reached 19.6 that day, good for fourth fastest receiver on that list, was asked about those marks after Tuesday’s practice. “He was tryna expose all of us,” Flowers laughed.

He was adamant that his new teammate “still plays fast.” Flowers has been most impressed by how patient and intentional Hopkins is in everything he does. He said “it’s easy to just follow” Hopkins’ lead and “he’ll be great for our group.”

The difference between Hopkins’ relatively quiet tenure in Kansas City and his projections for a year in Baltimore is the full offseason of preparation. Hopkins was traded to the Chiefs in late October and was catching live passes three days later. Baltimore has the flexibility of a whole summer to, as Monken said, “integrate him into the offense” led by two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson, who was absent Tuesday.

Still, there was plenty of praise for the new guy after his first couple of practices.

“I think he’s going to be great for our offense,” tight end Mark Andrews said, “just being versatile, having a guy that catches the ball extremely well, runs really fluid routes and knows the game well. When he’s out here, he’s flying around.”

Added tight end Isaiah Likely: “I feel like he’s just going to be him. We have a bunch of playmakers on the field at all times where everybody can go distance, so I feel like when the plays are there to be made, whether the ball is in his hands, whether he’s blocking down the field, whether it’s those crucial situations on third down, whenever, in the red zone, he’s going to be there to make those plays.”

For now, that’s all distant dreaming. OTAs are a chance to see Hopkins run around in a purple jersey and to hear the wisdom he’s able to impart on the young guys. Training camp starts near the end of July. That should provide more clarity on how Hopkins assimilates into Monken’s offense.

“Can’t wait to go full speed and get the pads on and really see it,” Monken said. “We’re not there yet, he’s not there yet, so can’t wait to get there and really see what we got.”

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