ESPN insiders weighs in on potential impact of the Patriots signing DeAndre Hopkins

Free agent receiver DeAndre Hopkins is visiting the Patriots on Thursday as he continues to search for his new home. ESPN analyst and former NFL GM Mike Tannenbaum says that if the Patriots are smart, this will be the last visit Hopkins takes.

Tannenbaum believes that Hopkins is a difference-maker for New England and that Bill Belichick and the Patriots should do whatever they can to land him.

“They can win the AFC East with DeAndre Hopkins. He is still a No. 1 receiver, because of the way he can run routes, his catching radius. Arizona scored 6 more points per game in the games he played than when he didn’t play,” Tannenbaum said Thursday morning on ESPN’s Get Up. “I think they go to the top of the AFC East [with Hopkins]. He doesn’t leave the building. I figure out how to get him signed today.”

Hopkins appeared in only nine games last season in Arizona and still finished with 64 catches for 717 yards. At 31-years-old he may not still be at the top of his game, but he’s still a productive player.

The Patriots already brought in a new offensive coordinator this year in Bill O’Brien and also added a couple of playmakers in JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mike Gesicki.

Fellow ESPN analyst Domonique Foxworth likes the idea of the Patriots signing Hopkins. However, he’s not convinced that it makes New England contenders to get to a Super Bowl, in part because of quarterback Mac Jones.

“I love the defense. I’m not so sure that I’m sold on Mac Jones. I think Bill O’Brien is going to help him get back to what we saw in his rookie year, but I think we were grading him on a curve his rookie year.
It was like, ‘This is great for a rookie. Hopefully he can build on that.’ And then things got a little bit worse,” Foxworth said.

“So I’m not sure that DeAndre Hopkins alone is the answer to their woes there, in part because that Patriots offense, with the exception of the Randy Moss years, it’s never been built around a true No. 1 receiver. That’s just not how they operate there. Maybe times have changed and maybe they’re going to do something different now. But I’m not sure that DeAndre Hopkins is enough to turn that offense into something that can be competitive in the AFC.”

With all of that said, Foxworth does like the idea of bringing in Hopkins and believes he would make New England better. How much better? He said that remains to be seen.

“I think all of the best quarterbacks in football take a leap, with the exception of Patrick Mahomes, who is just an alien. Everyone else plays much better when they have a real, legitimate No. 1 receiver. It’ll be the first time I think that Mac Jones will have somebody that he can feel like he truly trusts on every down,” Foxworth said.

“And it’s the first time that defenses will have to go into a Patriots game and have one guy to worry about. And that makes everything easier for Bill O’Brien and Mac Jones and that entire team. I guess part of the reason I’m a little bit skeptical is I think it’s a tough division. And I’m not sure that Mac Jones is better than what we saw that rookie year. He needs to be better than that. That was encouraging at that point, but he needs to be better than that.”