The Houston Texans’ DeAndre Hopkins is 23 years and 169 days old, but his age is just a number.
The third-year wide receiver plays like a talented veteran.
On Sunday, Hopkins became the third-youngest player in NFL history to reach 200 career catches and 3,000 yards receiving behind just Larry Fitzgerald and David Boston.
Hopkins would accomplish the feat against the Jets All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis.
Hopkins and Revis seemed to have a chippy battle of words throughout the first half of the game. Revis eventually left the game in the third quarter to be evaluated for concussion symptoms. Hopkins noted that he did see more double coverage when Revis left the game.
“He is a great defensive back,” Hopkins said. “You’ve got to give him a lot of credit. You know, I just came out and put my hard hat on today, and I was ready to play.”
Hopkins passed the career milestone with his 61-yard touchdown reception with 3:04 left in the second quarter. He also made an eye-popping one-handed catch for an 18-yard gain earlier in the drive.
“Hop was asking for the ball from the get-go,” T.J. Yates said after the game. “He knew that we were going to pick and choose our times to throw at him because you have to give a guy like Darrelle Revis the respect he deserves.”
Yates, who overthrew Hopkins on the opening drive, made up for it later. He threw a second touchdown pass to Hopkins in the third quarter. The 20-yard scoring reception gave the Texans a two-touchdown lead.
“Hopkins is a heck of a player,” head coach Bill O’Brien said. “He’s big, he’s got really good hands, he’s fast, very smart player, understands leverage. These guys, any receiver that I’ve been around (and) I’ve been very fortunate to be around some really elite receivers, they’re very intelligent players and that’s what he is.”
The third-year wide receiver finished with five catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns. It was his fifth 100-plus yard performance of 2015.