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Collin Johnson’s dynamic TD catch helps fuel the Longhorns to a second straight upset win.
In the shadows of Hollywood, two of the NFL’s biggest stars tested each other on the field and in the weight room over the summer in addition to frequently joking around and breaking bread.
During a series of intense workouts on the UCLA campus, Texans All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and New York Giants Pro Bowl wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., caught passes from Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.
It was a fun meeting between two of the game’s most dynamic and expensive receivers.
“They’re different people,” said Texans rookie wide receiver Vyncint Smith, who participated in those workouts. “They’re very into their work. Going out there and running with them, I saw how they ran their routes and practiced their craft.
“I learned how much attention they pay to the little details. They are athletically good enough to beat everybody. They are different kind of players. DeAndre is way more physical. Odell is more finesse. They play completely different.”
Those contrasting styles will be on display Sunday at NRG Stadium as the winless Texans and Giants will lean heavily on their top receivers to try to earn their first victory of the season.
‘Same kind of fire’
Hopkins has built a strong reputation with his penchant for acrobatic, one-handed catches, snagging footballs ambidextrously with one hand and tapping his toes along the sideline and in the end zone. He plays with an aggressive, physical mentality reminiscent of his high school days as a defensive back.
Beckham is forever defined by a leaping, twisting reception against the Dallas Cowboys in 2014. He’s known more for his subtle style and ability to create separation than many roughhouse tactics against corners, but he also has a temper explosive enough to rival his explosiveness as an athlete.
“I feel like both of those guys are the best receivers in the game, obviously,” said Texans safety Tyrann Mathieu, who played with Beckham at LSU. “The way they attack the football in the air and how they play the game, with a lot of passion, a lot of fight. They’re always trying to make a play.
“DeAndre’s a little bit taller and Odell’s a little shorter. They have the same kind of fire. I think both of our offenses ask those guys to do similar things. Both those guys are going to get doubled, triple-teamed and somehow they still find a way to make plays.”
A year ago, Hopkins was rewarded financially with a five-year, $81 million contract that included $49 million guaranteed.
Beckham recently reset the wide receiver market with a blockbuster fiveyear, $95 million contract extension that included $49 million guaranteed.
Both players share an appreciation for how they play football. Hopkins and Beckham are known for their style and swagger on and off the field, including their fashion choices.
“We don’t really talk about football, it’s more just real life hanging out,” Hopkins said. “He’s a great wide receiver. He’s one of the best to do it and will be for a while.”
Both are hoping to make a greater impact during the remainder of the season.
Hopkins has 14 catches for 188 yards and one touchdown. Beckham has yet to find the end zone, but he has 15 receptions for 163 yards.
“I know Odell,” Watson said. “He’s a great guy off the field but a talented athlete on the field. A guy that brings a lot excitement and juice to that team. Same with Hop, he does the same thing for our team.
“Great guy off the field and brings a lot of excitement and makes great plays for our team. They’re just two of the best receivers in the game.”
The competition within
Although Hopkins and Beckham won’t be on the field at the same time, there is an individual competition within the matchup between the two teams.
“I feel like I’ve started to get away from that because you could go for 300 yards and have five touchdowns and it’s great, and you lose and there’s no feeling — it’s not a good feeling,” Beckham told reporters this week. “OK, you had a good game, but you still lost. I hate losing. It’s just more about winning. “Of course, I would love to have more yards than Hopkins, but that’s not what you go out there to do. I’d love to go against defensive backs and play a better game than them, but it’s really more about getting wins.”
A year ago, Beckham was sidelined for the majority of the season with an ankle injury.
Hopkins was named firstteam All-Pro for the first time as he caught 96 passes for 1,378 yards and led the NFL with 13 touchdown catches.
“I think they’re both really good receivers,” defensive end J.J. Watt said. “I know they both can catch anything you throw their way. I know they both find a way to get open and find a way to make catches that 99 percent of people wouldn’t be able to make, so they’re obviously special playmakers.”
First time to cross paths
This game marks the first time Hopkins and Beckham have played in the same game.
Debate over who’s the top wide receiver in the NFL tends to revolve around Beckham, Hopkins, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Antonio Brown and the Atlanta Falcons’ Julio Jones.
Texans quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan has coached Hopkins and Beckham. The former Giants and Texans receiver coach sees a lot of parallels between two extremely athletic and competitive players.
“They’re both big-play receivers who can have the ability to change the game every time they touch the ball,” Ryan said. “Both have tremendous ball skills, body control.
“I think the commonalities of those two guys, just being explosive players, very good at what they do. Body control stands out to me. Certainly, their catch radius is a big part of what both of those guys can do and do well.”
Texans rookie safety Justin Reid practices against Hopkins every day. A fellow Louisiana native, he knows Beckham well because the Giants standout played at LSU with his older brother, former San Francisco 49ers Pro Bowl safety Eric Reid.
“Odell is a good dude, very fun to watch because he can make all these acrobatic catches,” Reid said. “He has every route in the route tree. Hop is definitely more physical than Odell. Odell is more of a finesse person. Off the field, they have a similar vibe about them.”
Hopkins is known for his ability to tap the football to himself and come down with the catch.
Beckham has blinding speed and is difficult to corral after the catch. And the compact 5-11, 200-pounder had the advantage of playing with just one quarterback for his entire career: Super Bowl winner Eli Manning.
Listed at 6-1, 215 pounds, Hopkins has played with 10 quarterbacks since being drafted in the first round in 2012 out of Clemson.
“He’s super competitive,” Giants coach Pat Shurmur said of Hopkins. “I think he plays hard throughout the game. You can tell he runs really good routes when you can tell he’s not primary. Aside from the fact that he’s got the skill and ability to be one of the top receivers in the league, I’ve always been impressed by how hard he plays.
“Different-sized guys. They’re production can be similar in a lot of ways, but I think they’ve got a lot of similar traits in terms of their competitive nature, their spirit, their ability to win their one-on-one matchups. I think Hopkins is a little bit bigger, if I’m not mistaken, but for the most part, they’re very similar guys.”
Sizing up the statistics
Over 81 games, Hopkins has caught 427 career passes for 6,053 yards and 37 touchdowns.
Over 49 games, Beckham has 328 catches for 4,586 yards and 38 touchdowns.
“Hop is the ultimate competitor,” Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel said. “He has great hands and he competes for the ball and feels like every ball that comes his should belong to him. Odell is similar in the fact that he wants the ball and he competes for it, just a little bit different skill set.
“They are both very good receivers and hard to defend. We go against people and they double Hop, because they know that when they don’t, the ball goes to him. So they try to take him out of the game. So we’ll try to take Beckham out of the game.”