The Arizona Cardinals were one of the prime movers and shakers this offseason, most notably when they swung a trade for wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins at the start of free agency. Then they made him the highest-paid receiver in the league, signing him to a two-year, $54.5 million contract extension with $42.75 million fully guaranteed.
If his debut with the Cardinals is any indication, he will be worth every penny.
Arizona knocked off the defending NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, and in the victory Hopkins was a huge presence for the Cardinals’ offense. He caught 14 passes on 16 targets for 151 yards, leading all receivers in the game. Beyond the sheer production, however, is the ways that Kliff Kingsbury was able to get him touches and opportunities, continually putting his star receiver in position to have an impact.
Take this early reception on a simple smoke screen:
This is a nice manufactured touch for Hopkins against a two-deep defensive look. However, the 49ers rally to this throw rather well, with linebacker Kwon Alexander having a free shot at the WR. Here, Hopkins flashes his ability after the catch, spinning away from the LB and picking up decent yardage after the catch. This will be a recurring theme.
Hopkins might best be known for what he can do in contested catch situations, given his strong hands, but he can still stress defensive backs by selling them on the vertical release. On this catch, Hopkins shows the defender a vertical route and gets them to open their hips a bit, before breaking off his route and settling down on a curl:
The defensive back has to respect the potential go route given this coverage, and as such he begins to race back to get depth. That is when Hopkins throttles down, getting separation as he works down the stem towards quarterback Kyler Murray.
On this next play, Hopkins is again aligned on the left side of the formation and this time faces Richard Sherman. The Cardinals drop into a single-high coverage scheme and Sherman does not have deep help. Once more the CB has to respect a potential vertical route, giving Hopkins the chance to break off his route and work free along the sideline:
Murray puts this throw on Hopkins before Sherman or Alexander coming from underneath can get there, and the Cardinals have a fresh set of downs.
So far we have seen Hopkins stress the defense vertically before working back to the ball, or getting a manufactured touch in the screen game. Later in the contest Kingsbury has Hopkins align with a reduced split, just outside the left tackle. You might think this is to give him room to work towards the boundary, but instead he attacks the middle of the field:
Yet again you see Hopkins flash his ability after the reception. Safety Jimmie Ward has a free shot at him, but the receiver is able to dance outside of the tackle attempt from the safety, racing upfield for additional yardage.
Despite Hopkins’ efforts, the 49ers were able to take a 20-17 lead late in the fourth quarter. But on Arizona’s last meaningful drive of the game, Hopkins helped his team get into the end zone for the eventual game-winner. First, on a 2nd and long, we see Hopkins work free and again get more yardage after the catch:
This time it is cornerback Emmanuel Moseley who is the victim of a missed tackle. He goes high to try and wrap up the receiver, but Hopkins shrugs him off, darting upfield to pick up the first down.
Then Hopkins turned in the biggest play of the game, on a simple mesh concept. He runs one of the shallow crossing routes underneath, but there is a blown coverage, and he makes San Francisco pay:
What we’ve got here, is a failure to communicate. The 49ers are in two different defenses, as pointed out by Sherman after the game:
On the play that DeAndre Hopkins was all alone for a 33-yard gain, the #49ers secondary made an adjustment that was not communicated to both sides of the field, Richard Sherman said. So one side was in one defense, the other was in another coverage.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) September 14, 2020
As you can see, to Sherman’s side of the field the defenders are in zone coverage, while the other side of the defense is playing man. With Hopkins starting over on Sherman’s side, there is no one playing him in man coverage, giving him the space to work free for the game’s biggest play. He was initially ruled to have scored, but on review he was ruled down at the one.
Kenyan Drake would score the game-winner on the next play.
But Hopkins showed on Sunday why the Arizona Cardinals first made the move to get him, then made the move to keep him in town for two more years. In this offense, Kingsbury can design schemes to give him more space to operate, something that was at a bit of a premium during his time in Houston. But Hopkins can also made defenses pay in a variety of ways, both with his speed to threaten defenders deep, but also with his maneuverability after the catch, leading to additional yardage. Many believe that Murray is primed for a big leap forward in his second season, and if Hopkins’ Arizona debut is any indication, his presence will be a big reason for such a step forward.