LA Rams: Camp showdown III – Brycen Hopkins vs. Jacob Harris

Hopkins has the inside track

While the LA Rams did not get much return on their initial investment from Hopkins last year, don’t go all dark and gloomy. It’s clear that the Rams understood the limits of the 2020 offseason training program, and had factored in a slow but steady training program for a  number of rookie additions last year. However, that’s not to say that his spot is a sure-fire event.

Hopkins, like many Rams offensive weapons, must prove to the coaching staff three entirely different things. First, he will need to show dependability, durability, and play-making ability. Secondly, he will need to prove that he can block as well as catch the ball. Thirdly and finally, he must prove significant progress from his rookie season.

Los Angeles Rams

Let’s face the facts, he is a trained and true tight end, and he has benefitted from working with the LA Rams for a year. That unto itself carries a lot of clout coming into the 2021 NFL season. But it also stands in stark contrast to the crazed condensed training camp that welcomed rookies to the NFL last year. Rather than onboarding in a normal season, the Rams rookie was instructed virtually, assigned a rather low spot on the team’s depth chart, and had almost no chance to improve his status in preseason games or with conducting drills with the starters.

Hopkins stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 245-pounds. While not overly athletic, he is not challenged in any way at his tight-end role. Throughout his collegiate career, Hopkins flashed brilliance with circus-style catches. That was very impressive had it not been for more than expected drops of passes into his hands.

With a full year of working with the LA Rams at blocking, catching, and running, Hopkins should have worked the bugs out of his game for 2021. And having so much riding on the Rams offense scoring points, Hopkins’s ability to catch unlikely passes would be a nice component to reclaiming a top ranking among NFL offenses in 2021.