DeAndre Hopkins isn't a flashy wide receiver after the play.
During the play, however, is a different story.
From one-handed catches to pinning a ball against his helmet to maintain control, Hopkins continues to impress with athleticism and his natural ability to adjust to any ball thrown in his direction.
Now, opposing coaches have also taken notice of the 23-year-old's catching radius and ball skills.
"He is an impressive young guy," Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said Thursday. "He has great body control, he is strong with the catch. He will be more fun to watch next week when they are playing against someone else."
With his success comes more attention. Hopkins has been the beneficiary of more double teams than he has seen before. He studies the best receivers in the NFL and tries to learn from them.
"Yeah, I mean I watch (Steelers WR) Antonio Brown," Hopkins said. "He's probably one of the best receivers at beating a double team. I just watch guys that've been double teamed over the years and are doing good."
All the attention from opponents each week doesn't bother Hopkins. He's a team player and sees it as an opportunity for one of his teammates to make a play.
"I don't really care, because that means another receiver is one on one and we have a great wide receiver core so I kind of smile, kind of happy when teams want to double me because that means somebody else on my team is one-on-one," Hopkins said.
Hopkins, now in his third year with the Texans, has accumulated 870 yards receiving and six touchdowns through eight games. For four-consecutive weeks, Hopkins had 100-plus yard performances, tying a franchise record.
"When we came here, he was really just coming off of his rookie year and going into his second year, and had a tremendous work ethic," head coach Bill O'Brien said. "He stayed after practice. He tried to do the things that we asked him to do. I can remember some moments last year where he made some incredible catches in the Giants game. I've seen those catches in practice, things like that that you just know he's a special player. He's a very special player."
The Texans head to Cincinnati to face the undefeated Bengals on Monday Night Football. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN and SportsRadio 610.
