Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins of the Tennessee Titans continues recovering from his knee injury in late July. Projections initially hoped he could return in time for the Titans’ regular-season opener against the Chicago Bears, but he heads into Sunday listed as questionable on the Titans’ injury report.
Here is an update on Hopkins’ injury outlook for Week 1.
DeAndre Hopkins Injury Update
Hopkins was reported to have suffered a knee strain on July 31, and it was believed he would be out 4-6 weeks. This week fits right in the middle of that scheduled return, but there is no guarantee he will be ready to go against the Bears.
Titans head coach Brian Callahan told reporters from the team’s official website that Hopkins “is progressing.” He also said that, as long as Hopkins feels good during practice this week, “he’ll be ready to roll.”
.@Titans receiver @DeAndreHopkins after Thursday’s practice. pic.twitter.com/ewG7Tqbso9
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) September 5, 2024
On Thursday of Week 1, Hopkins revealed that he tore his MCL but did not have surgery on the injury. This is his second MCL tear after doing the same with the Cardinals back in Dec. 2021. That injury cost Hopkins the final six games of the season and resulted in him having surgery. If he needs surgery this time, he could be looking at 2-3 months on the sidelines.
Ahead of practice on Friday, head coach Brian Callahan said that Hopkins would be questionable heading into Week 1. That means Hopkins could well be a game-time decision this week. Additionally, we could also see him limited if he is on the field.
Hopkins’ Fantasy Outlook for Week 1
At the beginning of August, we feared that a knee sprain would result in missed time to start the season, but he should be on the field, and if history holds, he might just post Flex-worthy numbers.
KEEP READING: PFN’s Consensus Fantasy Football Rankings
Hopkins has cleared 15 PPR points in eight of nine Week 1’s during his career (22.4 PPG), and while the exception did come last season (13.5 points), his 36.1% target share in that contest suggests that it wasn’t for a lack of trying (21.8 expected points). It wasn’t Week 1 last season, but it was Levis’ Week 1 in which Hopkins turned six targets into 34.8 fantasy points.
For the record, I have him ranked outside of my top 35 at the position. The missed time this preseason is concerning, and I just can’t wrap my head around playing a Levis target at less than full strength with the entire league at my disposal. If you squint, you could get there, and maybe there’s a DFS build worth exploring with him as the bring-back on a Chicago stack – it’s just not for me in redraft.
– Kyle Soppe Fantasy Football Analyst
Last year, Hopkins posted 223.6 fantasy points in PPR scoring and actually underachieved marginally. His expected fantasy points (xFP) were 234.9, marking the second straight year in which he marginally under-performed against expectations, having outperformed his xFP in each of the previous five seasons.
The positive spin is that while he has only played nine games with Levis at quarterback, he does average a touch under 14 fantasy points in those games, with an xFP differential of 105.1%.
In total last year, Hopkins posted 10 weeks over 10 fantasy points and just three under five fantasy points. When healthy, he is a solid option, especially if his connection with Levis continues to develop. The problem is that this knee injury is scary for a couple of reasons. We do not know how much he will play in Week 1, and we could risk him aggravating the injury in his first live-action since the injury at the end of July.