The Houston Texans may not have had the best quarterbacks in between the golden years of Matt Schaub and the Deshaun Watson era, but the 2010s featured some of the best receivers in the game.
According to Pro Football Focus, DeAndre Hopkins scored a 92.5 receiving grade in 2018, the highest of any qualifying wideout. The former 2013 first-round pick grabbed his second All-Pro along with 115 catches for 1,572 yards and 11 touchdowns — all without a single drop.
However, Hopkins was the second Texans wideout to have the highest single-season grade in the 2010s. Johnson became the first when his 91.9 grade was earned with 112 catches for 1,598 yards and four touchdowns.
Business was BOOMING in 2015 👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/FgbWDlo4Km
— PFF (@PFF) June 17, 2020
Interestingly, the only receiver on PFF’s top-4 single-season receiving grades in the 2010s that is still with his original team is Julio Jones. The former 2011 first-round pick remains with the Atlanta Falcons while Hopkins is with the Arizona Cardinals, Johnson finished his career with the Colts and Titans, and Antonio Brown is long gone from Pittsburgh.
Jones was also the only receiver on the list who scored his high grade in a Super Bowl season, even though the Falcons blew a 28-3 lead to the New England Patriots. Nonetheless, the other receivers on the list were stymied by the divisional round of the playoffs at the deepest; the ’18 Texans bowed out at home in the wild-card round against Indianapolis.