Fantasy football analyst Matt Harmon breaks down the Baltimore Ravens’ acquisition of the veteran star receiver below, but if you want even more free agency fantasy analysis, check out his deal tracker here.
DeAndre Hopkins continues his chase of a Super Bowl ring by signing with another top AFC team after it didn’t work out last season with the Kansas City Chiefs. Meanwhile, the Ravens stick to a long-standing bit of acquiring some of the best receivers of their time … well after their prime years.
The Ravens aren’t paying Hopkins much money, so no one is under the impression that he’ll have a massive role on the team. However, the Ravens have been searching for a third receiver behind Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman for quite some time. They tried to fill that spot by trading for Diontae Johnson last year and that … didn’t go well. At least Hopkins will go on the field when they ask him to.
My question is just how much playing time can we reasonably expect from the veteran receiver? Hopkins cleared 60% of the snaps just once in the regular season for Kansas City last year and averaged a 28.5% snap rate in their three postseason games. That’s not a great sign. He’s clearly lost the vast majority of his juice but I think he has just enough left to be a short-area, chain-moving target on critical downs for Baltimore because of his feel in coverage and great hands.
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That might help split the margins in some of the big games where this team has come up short far too often.
Fantasy fallout: Hopkins’ addition could bear fruit for the Ravens offense overall but his declining skill and the path to playing time are hard to figure. Thus, it’s not much of a notable fantasy move. Part of me wonders if this is yet another foreshadowing move in a possible parting with Mark Andrews, as I think the Ravens would like to play more 11-personnel and fewer heavy condensed sets as they further expand their pass game.
No matter what though, as much as I love Bateman’s game and hope the best for Hopkins, I’d be stunned if anyone in this WR room besides Flowers was a consistent fantasy starter.
