With the 2022 NFL season right around the corner, Pro Football Network this week released its ranking of the top 100 NFL players for the upcoming campaign.
A pair of former Clemson stars appeared on Pro Football Network’s list in Atlanta Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
Terrell checks in as PFN’s No. 21 overall player coming off his breakout 2021 season that saw him earn second-team All-Pro honors after tallying 81 total tackles (52 solo), a sack, a forced fumble, 16 passes defended and three interceptions in 16 games (16 starts).
A two-time All-ACC selection at Clemson, Terrell didn’t allow more than 32 yards in coverage in a game last season, allowed fewer than 20 yards in 13 games last season and also recorded the lowest passer rating allowed (47.5) and the lowest completion percentage allowed (43.9), according to Pro Football Focus. Additionally, per PFF, the Atlanta native and 2020 first-round draft pick yielded only 200 yards over the course of the entire season.
“Some discredit A.J. Terrell’s season because he didn’t travel with the opposing offense’s most dangerous weapons,” PFN’s Dalton Miller wrote. “But in a league where consistent cornerback play is as fleeting as the US economy, we need to acknowledge the unbelievable season he had in the situations he was put in.
“Terrell put up coverage metrics that might make Darrelle Revis blush. Terrell broke up 13 of the 66 targets coming his way (19.7%), allowing just 6.9 yards per catch and 200 total yards for the season. The longest completion against him went for 28 yards in Week 1.
“Terrell didn’t allow another 20-plus-yard reception ALL SEASON! Yes, we’d all like to see him playing press man on every play while traveling across formations to cover opposing No. 1 wide receivers. But when it comes to “doing the job,” nobody was better at it than Terrell was last season.”
As for Hopkins, the five-time Pro Bowler is ranked No. 35 on PFN’s list of the NFL’s top 100 players of 2022.
Hopkins played only 10 games last season due to a hamstring injury and then a season-ending MCL injury that he suffered in Week 14 in December, and he will have to sit out the first six games of this season as he serves a six-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
However, Hopkins had missed a total of just two games in the first eight years of his NFL career prior to last season. He finished the 2021 season with career lows in catches (42) and receiving yards (572), but still led the Cardinals with a team-high eight receiving touchdowns.
Over the previous four years, Hopkins had recorded no fewer than 96 catches or 1,165 receiving yards in any season. Over his NFL career (2013-21), Hopkins has amassed 789 receptions for 10,581 yards and 68 touchdowns.
“Aside from possibly Larry Fitzgerald, DeAndre Hopkins probably has the most natural hands of any receiver of this generation,” Miller wrote. “It’s constantly jarring to see his 4.94 Relative Athletic Score, given what we’ve seen from him over the past nine seasons.
“The fact that he’s only 6-foot-1 is the most mind-boggling metric. He has consistently been the best in the game with the ball in the air, disrespecting cornerbacks left and right. The “Hail Murray” was just the most glaring example of Hopkins’ freakish ball skills.
“Although it’s a small sample size, all one must do to understand Hopkins’ value is to look at Kyler Murray’s performance with and without the elite receiver. Hopkins helps drive that offense.”
–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
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