Although the Los Angeles Rams once again did not have a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, they were able to acquire a number of additional picks in the later rounds to add some talent to the organization. The Rams have been employing this strategy often in recent to give themselves the best chance at drafting quality NFL caliber players, and it has worked quite well.
One player the Rams hope will strengthen their roster is former Purdue tight end Brycen Hopkins, who was taken in the fourth round.
One issue that plagued Hopkins during the draft process was his number of dropped catches throughout his college career. According to J.B. Long of TheRams.com, Hopkins wants to move past that and have people focus on all the good he has done:
“Man! I don’t want to come up with excuses,” the former Purdue tight end told us when we asked how sick he was of being asked about the drops.
“They don’t like to give me any credibility for the catches, for any of the good catches I had. It’s all about drops. It’s something I’m working on. It’s all concentration. It’s not like I don’t have hands. I’ve shown everybody that I can catch. It’s just something I will be working on; I will get better at.”
Hopkins spent a total of five years with Purdue, putting up 16 touchdowns throughout his career. His senior season was easily his best as he went for 830 yards on 61 receptions. The concerning part for Hopkins critics is that he had seven drops in his senior season, up from the four he had the year prior.
Furthermore, his rookie year may not lead to much playing time as the Rams are set on tight ends between Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett. Of course, Everett has just one more season under contract with the Rams so bringing in Hopkins could be a move for the future.
Despite having a number of drops in college, the Rams scouts and general manager Les Snead believe that it indicates how much the Purdue offense trusted Hopkins. Even though he had four drops in his junior season, they went back to him the next year for nearly double the amount of targets.
Hopkins noted that he feels overcoming his issue with dropped catches comes down to concentration on his part. Hopefully by taking a backseat this season, he can focus on improving and learn a lot from his veterans.
