DeAndre Hopkins has put up with awful quarterback play for most of his NFL career, but he might have a rare ray of hope if his connection with Will Levis was any indication.
I bet these guys rallied around each other as their connection grew throughout Sunday’s 28-23 win over the Falcons. Levis had the physical tools to be a high first-round pick, but fell all the way to Round 2. Hopkins felt like everyone was writing him off in the style of Geno Smith.
In case you’re unfamiliar with the reference, this was Geno Smith last season after he beat Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos in Week 1 as Seattle’s new starting QB:
But back to what’s happening now in Tennessee. You can’t help but see the chemistry between the playmaking artist known as Nuk and the rookie second-round pick out of Kentucky.
Levis’ arm is straight-up bonkers. It’s a great match to someone who’s as strong at the catch point and tracking the ball as Hopkins is.
I mean two of those are absolute BOMBS. And as sort of odd of a personality as Levis seemed to have entering the draft, he sure came off well here talking about his go-to wide receiver.
Once the Titans traded star safety Kevin Byard to the Eagles, I thought they were waiving the white flag in a way. Turns out, they did enough to pick up a win on Sunday, and may have gotten their first glimpse at their new franchise QB in Levis.
But part of the reason Ryan Tannehill and Tennessee’s passing attack had struggled until today was a lack of dynamic skill players outside of Derrick Henry. Not that Hopkins is washed, but for whatever reason, they had a hard time putting him in ideal position to succeed.
Enter: Will Levis and his ability to stretch the field. Seemed to pretty much solve any lack of explosive potential the Titans had through the air. Now, we may see Prime Nuk coming up, and Levis leading Tennessee for the foreseeable future.
And what happens when Hopkins goes off like this? It opens up everyone else. Levis has plenty of arm to capitalize and force defenders to guard every blade of grass.
As Mike McDaniel might say, check your pulse right now if you’re not fired up watching those highlights as a Titans fan.
