DeAndre Hopkins Is PFF's Highest-Graded Receiver Through Three Games

All-Pro wide receiver off to blazing start with Cardinals

Sep 28, 2020 at 10:27 AM

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WR DeAndre Hopkins leads wide receivers in catches, yards and PFF grade through three games.

There have been numerous instances of stars changing teams and then not living up to their former glory.

That does not seem like it's going to be the case with DeAndre Hopkins.

The All-Pro receiver has started his Cardinals career with a bang, catching 32 passes for 356 yards and a touchdown through three games. Hopkins leads the NFL in both catches and yards, and after garnering a team-best 91.1 offensive grade on Sunday against the Lions, is the highest-graded receiver in the league by Pro Football Focus.

Atlanta's Calvin Ridley (86.3 grade) is the receiver closest to Hopkins (89.4) in the grading. Hopkins has the fifth-best offensive grade in the NFL among players with 200 snaps or more, behind Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Jared Goff and David Bakhtiari.

Other Pro Football Focus observations from Week 3:

PFF's grading of Kyler Murray is certainly at odds with conventional wisdom. Murray torched Washington on the ground in Week 2 but was only given a 66.2 rushing grade for that performance. He threw three interceptions on Sunday and was lucky not to have a fourth, but Pro Football Focus still awarded him with his best overall grade of the season at 73.2, and a solid passing grade of 68.1.

Outside linebacker Devon Kennard had the highest grade on defense. He was given a mark of 78.9, with PFF crediting him for a nice game rushing the passer.

Safety Chris Banjo had a team-best 75.0 coverage grade in 18 snaps, but when he left the game due to a hamstring injury, his replacements couldn't keep it up. Deionte Thompson was given a 48.0 coverage grade and Curtis Riley a 42.7 mark. PFF also thought cornerbacks Byron Murphy (39.5 grade) and Dre Kirkpatrick (38.9) struggled in coverage.

Wide receiver Andy Isabella was given the second-highest overall grade on the team at 84.7 after his two-touchdown performance in place of Christian Kirk.

Guard Justin Pugh continued his fine season with a pass-blocking grade of 82.8, as all five offensive linemen held up well in that regard. Pugh's pass-blocking grade of 85.4 is fifth among NFL offensive lineman that have played 200 or more snaps this season.