Tight end Brycen Hopkins was too intriguing for Rams to pass up in NFL draft

[ROD-BOT]

Tight end Brycen Hopkins was too intriguing for Rams to pass up in NFL draft

The Rams didn't need a tight end when the NFL draft was held in April, but Purdue's Brycen Hopkins was too enticing to pass up in the fourth round.

www.latimes.com

Tight end Brycen Hopkins was too intriguing for Rams to pass up in NFL draft

Long before he joined the Rams as a rookie this spring, Brycen Hopkins knew plenty about fellow tight end Tyler Higbee.

Hopkins played at Purdue under coach Jeff Brohm, who had utilized Higbee’s skills in a high-scoring offense at Western Kentucky. Purdue tight ends spent long hours studying Higbee’s route running and versatility in college.

“We would watch Higbee and the tight ends there and how they ran the plays, and tried to mirror that,” Hopkins said after the Rams selected him in the fourth round of the NFL draft.

Hopkins is now part of a Rams position group that includes Higbee, Gerald Everett and Johnny Mundt. Coach Sean McVay, new offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell and tight ends coach Wes Phillips are preparing for the start of training camp in late July, when they will have the four tight ends on the field for the first time.

Higbee, a fourth-round pick in 2016, had never eclipsed 100 yards receiving in an NFL game before he signed a four-year, $29-million extension on the eve of the 2019 season opener. Late in the season, Higbee made the investment appear sound when he put together a streak of four consecutive 100-yard receiving performances. Higbee carries a salary cap number of $9.1 million this season, according to overthecap.com.

Everett was a second-round pick in the 2017 draft. He has enjoyed some spectacular moments — his two-touchdown performance against the Kansas City Chiefs on “Monday Night Football” in 2018 among them — but he is in the final year of his rookie contract. He carries a salary number of $1.9 million this season.

Mundt, an undrafted free agent in 2017, has been a dependable blocker at the line of scrimmage and, at times, out of the backfield. He will earn $750,000 this season.

O’Connell is eager to incorporate all of the tight ends into an offense attempting to once again be considered among the NFL’s best.

“When you have the multiple skill sets — you’ve got guys that can both run routes and block in the run game — the options are limitless,” O’Connell said.

Hopkins, 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, has an NFL pedigree. His father, Brad, was the 13th player chosen in the 1993 draft, and he went on to play tackle for 13 seasons for the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans.

“He’s going to tell me how I need to get to the places I want to go and how hard it’s going to be to get there, how hard I have to work and committed and dedicated I’ll have to be,” Brycen said of his father. “But thanks to him, I’m ready to do that.”

Hopkins played at Ensworth High in Nashville before enrolling at Purdue. He redshirted his first season, started four games as a junior and then cemented his status as a pro prospect last season. Hopkins caught 10 passes for 140 yards against Maryland and finished the season with 61 catches for 830 yards and seven touchdowns.

But Hopkins also dropped seven passes, which became a point of predraft scrutiny.

“I want to become a more consistent catcher,” he said. “I don’t have bad hands. I just think that I can concentrate more on that ball and look it in and then my drop rate would go way down.

“I would just be able to become that more consistent catcher that everyone wants to see out of me.”

The Rams scouted Hopkins before, during and after his final college season. On the final day of the draft, the Rams traded down in the fourth round to acquire two seventh-round picks. The Rams did not have a pressing need at tight end, but general manager Les Snead intimated that the opportunity to select Hopkins spurred the Rams to alter their plans.

“We had him highly rated and felt like he could come in and carve out a role early, but also later,” Snead said. “We didn’t have to make that pick, but sometimes when you make those types of picks, there’s an element of drafting in a microscope, but also with a telescope and you feel like, ‘Hey, the guy can make plays.’”

Quarterback Jared Goff said Hopkins and rookie running back Cam Akers were among the first-year players that participated in informal on-field workouts during the offseason program.

From the day that he was drafted, Hopkins sounded eager to contribute to a team trying to get back to the playoffs.

“It’s just a crazy opportunity that I’m ready to take advantage of,” he said.

 

[Loyal]

Looks like it's Hopkins and Higbee in 12 man. ~ @So Ram

 

[Ram_Rally]

If he becomes a better receiver than higbee. My goodness

 

[Psycho_X]

This draft imo signals McVay going back to his roots with the Redskins. When he came to the Rams he adapted his offense to run around Gurley. When his issues started up our offense hit a wall against good defenses that we never adapted to. McVay finally started creeping back to that old offense of his utilizing the TE more at the end of last season and Higbee had a career day every week. Look back at his offenses in Washington and none of them had RBs that were all that memorable and he used a rotation. Hopkins could be a huge player in the near future. With Everett still here for a year it might not be immediate but this kid will be burning up the field for McVay eventually. I think it'll give the offense back its edge of being hard to cover and predict. McVay will be a genius again.

 

[kurtfaulk]

“We would watch Higbee and the tight ends there and how they ran the plays, and tried to mirror that,” Hopkins said after the Rams selected him in the fourth round of the NFL draft.

he certainly nailed higbee's play down to a T.

.

 

[oldnotdead]

I think drafting Hopkins is a signal that the Rams don't feel they can keep Everett and I tend to agree. Someone is going to pay for him and in the right scheme, he can be very good. I don't think Hopkins signals a shift to a 12 personnel alignment. 4th rounders are players you think are about a year away from being significant contributors. This year will be about focusing upon his drops and his blocking, both run and pass. His drops are probably more about losing focus and perhaps technique.

I think taking Jefferson in the second with the Cooks pick was significant because it signals to me that McVay is going to stay with his 3 WR sets (11 personnel). Jefferson is everything that Reynolds isn't and IMO more than what Cooks brought in some areas. He's going to play a lot of snaps this year. Sure he is likely to use 12 personnel on occasion but not as his base offense. 11 personnel forces most teams to play the game with their nickel and Jefferson is a mismatch for most NCBs. Also, it takes a man out of the box and should really improve the run attack. 12 personnel simply doesn't carry the same threat level. The o-line simply has to be good for the offense to be great. With 11 personnel McVay knows that if the o-line can simply execute their gap assignments, with Akers and Henderson they are one broken tackle from breaking a long run when they play against a light box.

 

[MachS]

I think he has a ton of upside as a pass catcher, I like his film a lot. Love the way Higbee played down the stretch last year, and as much as I love Everett and his age + upside, he's going to want money after this year especially if he has a big season. We already paid Higgs... and to me the picks of Hopkins and Burgess signal the end for Everett and JJ, no matter how well they play this year. Just my hunch. We have to pay Kupp..he's just more valuable than both and we're already in cap hell. Also with the covid situation this year the NFL is projecting major revenue loss which means the salary cap will shrink next year for the first time in forever. Wouldn't be surprised if he gets limited time this year to develop and plays a much bigger role next year in 12 personnel.

 

[Rams43]

I think drafting Hopkins is a signal that the Rams don't feel they can keep Everett and I tend to agree. Someone is going to pay for him and in the right scheme, he can be very good. I don't think Hopkins signals a shift to a 12 personnel alignment. 4th rounders are players you think are about a year away from being significant contributors. This year will be about focusing upon his drops and his blocking, both run and pass. His drops are probably more about losing focus and perhaps technique.

I think taking Jefferson in the second with the Cooks pick was significant because it signals to me that McVay is going to stay with his 3 WR sets (11 personnel). Jefferson is everything that Reynolds isn't and IMO more than what Cooks brought in some areas. He's going to play a lot of snaps this year. Sure he is likely to use 12 personnel on occasion but not as his base offense. 11 personnel forces most teams to play the game with their nickel and Jefferson is a mismatch for most NCBs. Also, it takes a man out of the box and should really improve the run attack. 12 personnel simply doesn't carry the same threat level. The o-line simply has to be good for the offense to be great. With 11 personnel McVay knows that if the o-line can simply execute their gap assignments, with Akers and Henderson they are one broken tackle from breaking a long run when they play against a light box.

Nice Post, oldnotdead.

i think you nailed the Ram thinking with regard to the Hopkins and Jefferson picks.

 

[LA_Rams_#29]

I wouldn't be so sure that drafting Hopkins means we aren't going to keep Everett. We would roster at least 3 TEs, and with Hopkins being capable of honestly being a big slot receiver, keep 4 would be doable as well. Don't sleep on Kendell Blanton. Johnny Mundt has some skills, but Blanton has a higher cieling IMO and if he continues to improve could be a more versatile option for us.

 

[Merlin]

Who they drafted this year does show what they are thinking in-house. We can definitely read between the lines there.

Everett is as good as gone. Hopkins will be his replacement and gets to start that 2-3 year dev that TEs need at this level with what is basically a redshirt year.

Johnson same deal. Rams took 2 safeties who are fits for this new scheme. Writing is on the wall.

 

[Ram Ts]

I don’t think they went into the draft looking for Everett’s replacement. But at some point Hopkins was too good to pass up drafting. As soon as that happened, that’s when Everett’s future as a Ram ended for 2021 (not before).

JJ3 though, I believe they went into the draft looking for a 2021 replacement- knowing unfortunately that they simply just don’t have the cap to sign him.

Both smart LT moves imo.

 

[Memento]

I see Hopkins as a replacement for Everett. He still needs to learn how to block. I'm not as concerned about his drops: Higbee dropped quite a few passes when he was younger. My main concern is that he couldn't block at a college level, let alone the NFL level. Thankfully, he's still young enough to learn, and while he'll likely never be a good blocker, he at least won't be a liability.

Also, don't sleep on Kendall Blanton. He's an amazing blocker and a fairly good receiver. I think we keep four tight ends: Higbee, Everett, Hopkins, and Blanton.

 

[Mister Sin]

I know this absolutely has no merit what so ever...BUT....

On Madden, no matter what draft class import file i use, Hopkins is always the best. Lol that has to count for something...right?....no?....