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Each team’s leader in receiving yards from 2023
Look, we know the Carolina Panthers had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year—particularly on offense. But fair is fair, and we already gave you passing and rushing leaders.
So, let’s finish it out and run through each team’s leader in receiving yards from the 2023 regular season.
In our latest offseason preview for the Titans, we take a look at the pending free agents and biggest needs at wide receiver.
One of the Tennessee Titans’ biggest needs going into the 2024 offseason is at the wide receiver position, where Tennessee will need to add at least two impact players.
Tennessee’s best wide receiver by far in 2023 was easily DeAndre Hopkins, who played a key role in the development of quarterback Will Levis as his trusted No. 1 target.
Despite doubts about his viability at 31 years old, Hopkins looked very much like the star receiver we’ve seen during his career.
DHop finished with a team-high 1,057 receiving yards and seven scores, which is made more impressive by the fact that he got off to a slow start, combined with Tennessee’s offensive line being abysmal.
On the flip side, second-year wide receiver Treylon Burks was a major disappointment. On top of injury issues, Burks didn’t do much when he was on the field, finishing with just 221 receiving yards and no scores.
Now, a look at who’s under contract, who’s a pending free agent and what the Titans’ specific needs are at the position going into the offseason.
Note: Contract information is courtesy of Over the Cap.
Grades for the Titans’ most notable 2023 free-agent acquisitions following the season.
Ran Carthon was left in a bit of a sticky situation when he accepted the Tennessee Titans’ general manager job last January.
The previous regime, headed by former general manager Jon Robinson, left Carthon with minimal cap space and suboptimal dead-cap figures to work around.
Despite this, Carthon managed to have a pretty active first free agency. The vision was clear: acquire high-level athletes and former top picks who had yet to fulfill their potential.
With one season in the books, we can now start to delve into how those signings performed. Let’s break it down.
With the 2023 season in the books, we’re handing out awards for the best (and worst) Titans players.
While the 2023 campaign certainly wasn’t a banner year for the Tennessee Titans, who finished with a 6-11 record and in last place in the AFC South, there were still some standout performances for the team to hang its hat on.
The Titans saw some key veterans answer the bell on both sides of the ball, but there were also some young players who stepped up to give hope for Tennessee’s future.
Adding to that, the Titans also saw some players rebound after suffering serious injuries the year prior.
We go over those players and more as we take a look at our Titans 2023 season awards.
A look at the Titans’ leaders in several statistical categories following the 2023 season.
Things certainly didn’t work out the way the Tennessee Titans hoped they would during the 2023 season, but the team still managed to have some standout individual performances on both sides of the ball.
Running back Derrick Henry and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins both finished north of 1,000 yards, which is made more impressive when you consider the absolute dysfunction that took place on offense overall.
Henry’s 1,167 rushing yards and 12 scores ranked second and tied for seventh in the NFL, respectively, while Hopkins’ 1,057 receiving yards ranked 21st.
Quarterback Will Levis was impressive in his own right, although he only played in eight games after serving as the emergency signal-caller over the first half of the season.
If you take the 224 passing yards Levis averaged over the eight contests he finished and extrapolate that over 17 games, the rookie would have tallied 3,808 passing yards and ranked 15th in the league.
On defense, linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair finished as the team’s tackles leader, but he was also top five among all defenders in that category. Harold Landry (10.5) and Denico Autry (11.5) finished in the top 20 in sacks, also.
With the 2023 campaign in the books, here’s a look at the Titans’ team leaders in several major statistical categories on both sides of the ball.
DeAndre Hopkins made a few extra bucks during the Titans’ Week 18 win over the Jaguars.
Tennessee Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins made himself a “few” extra bucks during the Week 18 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Hopkins entered the week in striking distance of three different incentive tiers, with each worth $250,000. The veteran wideout managed to hit two of them after he reached 75 receptions and 1,050 yards on the season.
The one he missed was eight touchdowns, which he fell just one shy of after notching his seventh score of the year in the 28-20 win over the Jags.
In all, Hopkins hit eight incentive tiers in 2023, good enough for an extra $2 million in his pocket.
“I didn’t really want to be out there thinking about it and try to do more than I needed to,” Hopkins said, per Paul Kuharsky. “I’ve been playing this game a long time, just let it come to you.”
“I had guys on the sideline and some of the coaches were reminding me of what was going on,” he added when asked if teammates and coaches were making him aware of where he stood with the incentives.
DeAndre Hopkins hit two of three $250k incentives. #Titans pic.twitter.com/gLZVEMooy6
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) January 7, 2024
Hopkins finishes what was a successful first season in Nashville with 75 catches for 1,057 receiving yards and seven scores. One can only imagine how much better it could have been if the offense around Hopkins didn’t struggle as badly as it did.
Nevertheless, now the question becomes: will Hopkins return in 2024?
The Titans should certainly be interested in keeping him, as Hopkins, who is under contract in 2024, has not only proven he still has plenty left in the tank, he’s also been vital for the development of rookie quarterback. Will Levis.
But it’s hard to imagine the Titans will stand in Hopkins’ way if he decides he wants to play for a team with a better chance to contend.
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DeAndre Hopkins had high praise for Will Levis and the city of Nashville, but he wasn’t ready to talk about what the future holds beyond this season.
The Tennessee Titans need veteran wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to stick around in 2024 after he’s proven to be a key target for rookie quarterback Will Levis.
Adding to that reason, the Titans are seriously thin at wide receiver and will need to greatly improve the position this offseason. Having Hopkins in tow gives Tennessee one less thing to worry about on that front.
While Hopkins is under contract in 2024, there’s no guarantee that the 31-year-old wide receiver will want to stick around for another season when chances are the Titans are a year or two away from really competing.
At the end of the day, if Hopkins wants out, the Titans will oblige.
One thing that helps is his relationship with Levis, which appears to be quite strong after DHop has gone out of his way to praise the rookie several times during the 2023 campaign.
On Friday, Hopkins did so once again, saying Levis was one of the three most competitive signal-callers he’s ever played with. Unfortunately, he didn’t want to name the other two.
DeAndre Hopkins called Will Levis one of the three most competitive QBs he has ever played with. Asked if he would name the other two, he replied, “that’s pay per view.”
— Terry McCormick (@terrymc13) January 5, 2024
Hopkins described his own performance in his first season with the Titans as “decent.”
That’s quite the humble evaluation considering Hopkins was one of the few bright spots for the Titans and managed to break the 1,000-yard mark despite the mess around him. He also broke the trend of notable veteran free-agent wideouts not panning out in Tennessee.
He wasn’t ready to talk about his future, but Hopkins did express love for Nashville, which is also good news for the Titans’ chances of keeping him.
“I feel like it was decent, wasn’t bad, but I knew the kind of offense I was coming into — a run-first offense — and I just wanted to come out and try to help these guys win,” he said, according to Jim Wyatt. “I knew I wouldn’t be targeted like some No. 1 receivers are targeted on certain teams… But for me, to have 1,000 yards, if you play a lot of football, you know that’s hard to do, especially in a run-first offense.”
“I’m from South Carolina, so I would say (Nashville) is similar,” DHop explained. “Just more restaurants, more people, similar vibes. It’s good people, though. I love the city. Nashville has treated me like family, welcomed me with open arms.”
If Hopkins does stick around for another season, he might (and should) see a transition to a more pass-heavy offense in which he’ll once again be the No. 1 target of a quarterback he clearly likes — and that could be yet another thing that makes him want to stay.
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Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins has a good chance to hit multiple more incentives in Week 18.
UPDATE: Tennessee Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins managed to hit two of the three possible incentive tiers in the Week 18 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars (READ MORE HERE).
While the Tennessee Titans have nothing to play for with their season having been over for weeks now, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has a chance to make a few extra bucks in the season finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Hopkins, who currently sits with 68 receptions for 1,011 yards and six scores, had a total of 12 incentives in his two-year contract going into this season based on receptions, yards and touchdowns.
For a reminder, here’s what they were (it’s $250,000 per tier):
Catches
65: $250,000
75: $500,000
85: $750,000
95: $1 million
Yards
750: $250,000
850: $500,000
950: $750,000
1,050: $1 million
Touchdowns
4: $250,000
6: $500,000
8: $750,000
10: $1 million
Hopkins has already hit the first threshold for catches, but he’s just seven shy of hitting the second tier, which is 75 receptions.
In terms of yards, Hopkins needs just 39 more to max out his money there. As for touchdowns, he’ll need two to hit the third tier, but barring a historic performance, he won’t reach the last one.
So, in all, Hopkins has a realistic chance to make a cool $750,000 more in the final game of the 2023 campaign.
While there was plenty of unfounded doubt about what Hopkins had left in the tank going into this season, the veteran wide receiver ended up proving he hasn’t lost a step at all and he has been one of the few bright spots for Tennessee, especially when you consider what he’s meant to rookie quarterback, Will Levis.
Hopkins is under contract for 2024, so barring his desire to leave, we’ll see him in the two-tone blue for at least another season, which is huge for the development of Levis moving forward.
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The biggest takeaways from the Titans’ Week 17 loss to the Texans.
The Tennessee Titans’ Week 17 loss to the Houston Texans gave us a taste of just about everything that has plagued the team during the 2023 campaign, which will thankfully come to an end next week.
There was horrendous pass protection and run-blocking, a quarterback got hurt as a result of the former, and the Titans managed to shoot themselves in the foot with bad penalties, a turnover and shoddy play-calling.
The defense was awful between the 20’s, but the unit did buckle down in the red zone, as it has all season long.
The only silver lining of Sunday’s result was the fact that the Titans helped their quest to get the highest draft pick possible. That, along with a lot of cap space, will greatly aid in the roster overhaul Tennessee needs.
We’ll talk about all of those topics and more as we take a look at the biggest takeaways from the Titans’ 11th loss of the season.
DeAndre Hopkins continues to perform at a tremendous level.
Ladies and gentlemen, DeAndre Hopkins is still incredibly good at football.
While the Tennessee Titans have not had the best season, their first year with the team’s star wide receiver, Hopkins continues to perform at a tremendous level. In their 26-3 loss to Hopkins’ first NFL team, the Houston Texans, the 31-year-old wide receiver recorded 7 catches for 72 yards, reaching 1,000 yards on the season.
Another milestone for one of the game’s best, Hopkins has now hit 1,000 receiving yards for the seventh time in his career. The former Tiger has been the epitome of consistency and a wide receiver one for his teams for over nearly a decade. His career totals now sit at 921 receptions for 12,309 yards and 77 touchdowns.
Hopkins is one of the best wide receivers of his generation.
Seventh career 1,000 yard receiving season for @DeAndreHopkins pic.twitter.com/E4sTO2UPe7
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) December 31, 2023
