LA Rams 2020 NFL Draft class saving the day like the cavalry

Round 4 Pick 136: Brycen Hopkins

The second pick of round four had the Rams selecting tight end Brycen Hopkins at 136. He is a great receiving-type tight end who has a solid knack for getting solid yards-after-catch. His skillset and college production align with former Rams Jared Cook.

While most scouts said Hopkins will have issues with drops like Jared Cook did throughout his career I disagree with that notion.  Most of his “drops” were simply poorly thrown balls arriving in hard-to-catch spots. But Hopkins did manage to just get his hands on the ball, meeting the criteria of a “drop”.

However other comparisons could be made as well. Cook was always a better receiving threat than blocker just like Hopkins and had enough speed to pull away from the defense. They’re both big targets with a huge catching radius and if a ball is thrown high both tight ends should make the catch if someone less athletic, such as a linebacker, is covering them.

If you want to break down their college stats they almost mirror each other up to both players in their junior year. Their receiving yards, receptions yards per catch and touchdown numbers are very similar up to their junior years. Even their career yards per reception are very similar at 15 and 15.2 respectively. The only difference is Hopkins took a massive jump in receiving totals his senior season while Cook went to the draft his junior year.

Hopkins contribution might be limited his rookie year in the NFL with Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett in the depth chart, but should see the field more next season with Everett in a contract year.

If you want the full breakdown of Brycen Hopkins, just click here to see his full profile.