Houston Texans

Hopkins helping fill leadership void with Texans

Published May. 27, 2015 1:00 p.m. ET

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Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is only entering his third season in the NFL, but with the offseason departure of long-time star Andre Johnson, Hopkins is clearly expected to be Houston's go-to wideout in 2015.

Texans head coach Bill O'Brien said the 22-year-old Hopkins is embracing his role - both on and off the field, particularly in working with the team's group of young receivers.

“Hopkins has been a really good leader in the offseason, mentoring (Jaelen) Strong, (Keith) Mumphery, and (Chandler) Worthy and some of those guys," O'Brien said, according to the team's official website. "I think we’ve got good leadership.”

Production, however, may be a different story. While it will be difficult to match what Johnson brought during his 12 years with team, O'Brien expressed confidence in Hopkins and the group the Texans have assembled for this season.

“You don’t replace a guy like Andre Johnson," O'Brien said. "He was a guy who played here for many, many years. Had over 12,000 yards receiving and things like that. We’re not looking at it that way. What we look at is basically how we slot the receivers. We have a No. 1, 2, 3, 4, and a 5 and right now we feel really good about where the competition is at the position. We feel good about Hopkins, obviously he’s going to have a really good year.”

(h/t Houston Texans)

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