Tag: Brycen Hopkins

Rams TE Brycen Hopkins shares his goal for the 2021 season

Brycen Hopkins was buried on the depth chart last season. This year, he has a much better opportunity.

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There will be some shuffling within the tight end group for the Los Angeles Rams this year following the departure of Gerald Everett in free agency. Tyler Higbee will remain the top tight end, but there will be plenty of competition for the second and third spots.

Brycen Hopkins was buried on the depth chart last year as a fourth-round rookie, and although he still has plenty to prove, he has a chance to take Everett’s place as TE2. He’s not looking too far ahead at this point in the offseason, but he wants to make sure he capitalizes of every rep in training camp as he attempts to prove himself to the coaching staff.

I just want to take advantage of my opportunities as much as I can this season,” he said, via TheRams.com. “Every single rep going into training camp I have something to prove. Obviously, I haven’t had as much opportunity as I would like to in the past; considering we couldn’t even be at the facility until later. But now that I have a lot and everything underneath me right now, I feel a little more grounded. I just want to use that foundation to just push myself even further and just go.”

Hopkins is an athletic pass-catching tight end with good potential. But he suffered from drops in college and didn’t make much noise as a rookie last year. He’ll have to stand out in practice and the preseason if he’s to hold off Johnny Mundt and Jacob Harris for the No. 2 tight end spot.

After quiet rookie year, Brycen Hopkins has golden opportunity to help Rams in 2021

The Rams need a new TE2 and Brycen Hopkins has a clear path to taking over that role.

A large contingent of Rams fans were surprised when Los Angeles selected a tight end in the fourth round of last year’s draft. Initially, Brycen Hopkins was a puzzling pick because of the presence of Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett.

But when you zoomed out and looked at it with a multi-year view, it made more sense. Everett was set to be a free agent in 2021 and Hopkins possesses a lot of the same qualities as a tight end. As expected, Hopkins didn’t contribute at all as a rookie. He suited up for just five games, played only two offensive snaps and didn’t catch a pass.

But heading into next season, Hopkins has a perfect opportunity to play a meaningful role for the Rams as the No. 2 tight end. Everett is a member of the Seahawks and Johnny Mundt is the only other threat to Hopkins’ playing time as the second tight end behind Higbee.

This will be a critical offseason for the Purdue product, needing to impress the coaching staff in OTAs and minicamp, assuming they’re held this spring. And then comes training camp in July, as well as three preseason games in August – which Hopkins missed out on last year due to the pandemic.

Like many others, Hopkins has been training hard this offseason and recently shared a video of his workouts.

Hopkins is an athletic pass-catching tight end, as evidenced by his 4.66 in the 40-yard dash and 116-inch broad jump. He also showed good short-area quickness at the combine with times of 4.28 and 7.25 seconds in the short shuttle and three-cone drill, respectively.

But his hands were unreliable in college and he needs to improve as a blocker. Everyone knew about Everett’s receiving ability, but he was an underrated blocker, too, which was a big reason he played significant snaps behind Higbee in two-tight end sets.

Hopkins doesn’t need to catch 40-plus passes for 400-plus yards like Everett did a year ago, especially with how many weapons Los Angeles has on offense. But he does need to play consistently and show that he can be relied on to haul in passes when targeted.

Because when he does have the ball in his hands, he can be dangerous.

Tyler Higbee, Kai Forbath among Rams’ five inactives vs. Bears

Brycen Hopkins is active for the first time this season.

The Los Angeles Rams will surprisingly be without tight end Tyler Higbee on Monday night after he was listed as questionable with a hand injury. He’s among the Rams’ five inactives against the Bears, along with Kai Forbath, Xavier Jones, Brian Allen and Trishton Jackson.

Higbee injured his hand last week against the 49ers but it wasn’t initially believed to be serious. He clearly didn’t make enough progress during the week to be ready for this game, even with an extra day for it to heal.

Brycen Hopkins is active for the first time in his career, giving the Rams a third tight end behind Gerald Everett and Johnny Mundt. Raymond Calais is also active and could contribute on special teams as a kick returner.

Everett’s role will be even greater tonight with Higbee out, hoping to build on back-to-back weeks with at least three catches. It’d be fun to see Hopkins out there in two-tight end sets with Everett, but it’s not highly likely due to his inexperience.

With Forbath inactive, Sloman will obviously remain the Rams’ kicker, which Sean McVay said on Saturday. But if he struggles against the Bears, the competition at kicker will heat up quickly.

What about Brycen Hopkins piqued the Rams’ interest?

The Rams really liked Hopkins’ receiving ability and upside.

One of the Rams’ most surprising picks of the draft this year was tight end Brycen Hopkins in the fourth round – not because Hopkins was a reach at that point in the draft, or that he isn’t a promising prospect. It was surprising because the Rams already have two really good tight ends on the roster in Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett, making the position a strength, not necessarily a need.

However, Hopkins was a great value at that point in the draft, so much so that the Rams couldn’t pass him up. And with Everett becoming a free agent in 2021, it makes some sense as to why Los Angeles scooped up Hopkins at No. 136 overall.

But what about Hopkins piqued the Rams’ interest? Sean McVay apparently told scouts to find players who could separate from defenders, which is certainly a strength of Hopkins’.

“What really caught my eye on Brycen while I was watching tape was his ability to separate running tight end routes,” said Ted Monago, assistant director of college scouting. “He was an athletic guy who had some natural savvy and ability, which Coach McVay told us to find players who could double-up and create separation. I always thought Brycen could do that — it was very natural for him.”

On a pre-draft conference call with Les Snead, one scout pointed out Hopkins’ size and strength, as well as his receiving ability, which is where his real upside is.

“He’s big enough, I think he’s physical enough. He does have some upside as a receiver. His value to me is like, all right, possession guy, fourth receiver, active on game day, great on special teams. He does have value,” said area scout Brian Hill.

Snead said after the draft that the Rams want to get Hopkins involved as a rookie in “exotic personnel packages” on offense, which could be taken as three-tight end sets with Everett and Higbee also on the field.

Snead and McVay have said this offseason that they want to get the tight ends involved more often next season, and Hopkins figures to be included in that.

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Rookie Brycen Hopkins could play ‘big slot’ role for Rams

The Rams have a lot of options with Brycen Hopkins playing out of the slot, which could be a fun personnel package.

The Los Angeles Rams added two dynamic playmakers on offense in the draft with Cam Akers and Van Jefferson, who they selected in the second round. Akers figures to replace Todd Gurley as the top player in the backfield, while Jefferson will compete with Josh Reynolds for the No. 3 receiver role.

However, tight end Brycen Hopkins could play a key role on offense as a rookie. He’ll be the third tight end behind Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee, but he could contribute in a “big slot” role with his athleticism and pass-catching ability.

At Purdue, the fourth-round pick was one of the most productive tight ends out of the slot. Of all the tight ends in the 2020 draft class, he had the second-most receiving yards from the slot in 2019 with 543.

Harrison Bryant, who shockingly went undrafted, led all tight ends in the 2020 draft class with 730 yards.

Hopkins has the speed and quickness to contribute out of the slot. Obviously, Cooper Kupp is the best option for the Rams, but in some of these “exotic personnel packages” that Les Snead alluded to, Hopkins can play a receiver role out of the slot.

He can be a weapon on downfield passes, particularly on seam routes. He ran a 4.66 in the 40-yard dash, which was one of the fastest times of any tight end at the combine. So he can certainly get down the field in a hurry for a player his size.

Just take a look at this clip from last season, which was just a quick throw up the seam, which he broke for a long touchdown.

There’s a reason Pro Football Focus called Hopkins the “most fun to watch” tight end in this year’s class, and it’s plays like this one that are an example why. He’s excellent after the catch and can play inline and detached from the line as a slot receiver.

Sean McVay is going to have a field day with Hopkins available, along with all the other weapons Los Angeles has.

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Brycen Hopkins aspires to be a complete TE like George Kittle

Brycen Hopkins wants to improve his hands at the next level.

George Kittle has burst onto the scene in the last two years as arguably the best tight end in the NFL. He did so as a former fifth-round pick out of Iowa with almost no college production.

Brycen Hopkins was taken by the Rams a round earlier, but he aspires to be a similar tight end as Kittle has become for the 49ers – a tight end who’s equal parts receiver and blocker.

“You know, I always want to say George Kittle,” Hopkins said when asked which tight ends he wants to model his game after. “I think he’s got the best of both worlds, he’s the best tight end, but just the way that he always plays disciplined in the receiving game and in the blocking game with his technique and his fundamentals, but also as an athlete, I think that’s something that I admire the most about him as a player. As much as I can mirror myself after him, I would love to do that. Also, another player, Mark Andrews, Zach Ertz – other players like that.”

Hopkins comes into the NFL as a better receiver than blocker, but his hands are questionable at times. He dropped 22 passes in his career at Purdue, most of which were the result of him taking his eyes off the ball and trying to turn upfield.

That can happen sometimes when you’re as fast and athletic as he is in the open field, trying to gain big yardage after the catch. He wants to improve his concentration at the catch point to hopefully eliminate those drops.

“I think one of my strengths is my ability to create separation at the top of routes and use athleticism and go up and get the ball,” he said. “I want to become a more consistent catcher. I don’t have bad hands. I just think that I can concentrate more on that ball and look it in and then my drop rate would go way down. I would just be able to become that more consistent catcher that everyone wants to see out of me.”

Kittle’s hands are as good as they come for a pass-catcher, so Hopkins is on the right track with those aspirations. He only dropped two passes on 107 targets last season, a drop rate of only 1.9%, which was fifth-best among all receivers with at least 100 targets.

Hopkins has the makings of a dynamic tight end, he just needs to put it all together – and he’s picked a pretty good player to model his game after.

Instant analysis: Making sense of Rams drafting TE Brycen Hopkins

Bryce Hopkins has a ton of potential, but picking him before addressing the OL is questionable.

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Fifth time’s the charm, right? Not for the Rams when it comes to addressing their shaky offensive line and linebacker group.

They’ve made five picks in the 2020 NFL Draft, and not one of them has been an offensive lineman or linebacker. There were options available every step of the way, including Troy Dye, Akeem Davis-Gaither, Matt Hennessy, Josh Jones and Lloyd Cushenberry, but the Rams passed up those options in favor of skill-position players – like the one they took at No. 136.

After trading down 10 spots with Dye still on the board, the Rams selected Purdue tight end Brycen Hopkins with the 136th overall pick. After the pick was announced, the overwhelming reaction from Rams fans was: “Why?”

It’s hard to make sense of the Rams trading away from Dye and passing on Tyler Biadasz in the fourth round, but Hopkins is an intriguing prospect. He has great size at 6-4, 245 pounds,but also excellent movement skills after running a 4.66 40-yard dash.

Compared to the other tight ends in this class, he’s got as much potential as any. Pro Football Focus called him the “most fun to watch” tight end in the draft, showcasing explosiveness and making great catches downfield – something not all tight ends can do.

But there is one big concern with Hopkins’ game: His hands are questionable, at best. He dropped 22 passes on 152 catchable targets, which is an atrocious rate, to say the least.

I debated not including this category at all because it’s not a particularly fun tight end group to watch. However, Hopkins is fun to watch because he’s a wild card. He’ll alternate spectacular catches and downfield grabs with shockingly easy drops. If drops weren’t an issue, he’d likely be at the top of the PFF board, but who wants a tight end they can’t rely on? His 22 drops on 152 career catchable are massively concerning.

There’s no denying Hopkins’ potential, but his immediate fit in the Rams’ offense isn’t great. They already have two starting-caliber tight ends with Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett. So how exactly will Hopkins carve out a role as a rookie? Most likely, he won’t.

Instead, he’ll be a replacement for Everett, who’s a free agent in 2021. It seems highly unlikely that the Rams will re-sign him after extending Higbee last year and drafting Hopkins on Saturday.

So while the Rams need immediate help on the offensive line and at linebacker, they selected a player who won’t contribute much until 2021. That’s the issue with the pick, not the player.

Twitter reacts to Rams drafting TE Brycen Hopkins in Round 4

Rams fans were surprised by the team drafting a tight end in the fourth round.

For the third time in five picks, the Los Angeles Rams addressed their offense in the draft – but not with a pick to help the offensive line. Instead, they took a tight end at No. 136 overall after trading down 10 spots with the Texans.

Brycen Hopkins out of Purdue was the pick, which surprised a lot of people, particularly Rams fans. Here’s how Twitter reacted to the selection, with many speculating what it means for Gerald Everett’s future in L.A.

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Brycen Hopkins – No. 136 pick – Los Angeles Rams

Strengths: Smooth, athetlic and good at cracking zone-defense.
Weaknesses: Needs to improve strength and separating from man-coverage

Strengths: Smooth, athetlic and good at cracking zone-defense.
Weaknesses: Needs to improve strength and separating from man-coverage

Brycen Hopkins – No. 136 pick – Los Angeles Rams

Strengths: Smooth, athetlic and good at cracking zone-defense.
Weaknesses: Needs to improve strength and separating from man-coverage

Strengths: Smooth, athetlic and good at cracking zone-defense.
Weaknesses: Needs to improve strength and separating from man-coverage