FanDuel Price: $9,200
numberFire Projected Points: 18
Last week I recommended DeAndre Hopkins because of the ridiculous volume he's receiving as the number one receiver in Houston. Nothing, not even the return of a fully healthy Arian Foster, has slowed that down. After entering last week on pace to receive 240 targets over the season, Hopkins received another 15 targets, catching 10 of them for 148 yards and two touchdowns, slightly lowering his season target pace to a still eye-popping 237.
Hopkins gets another tasty matchup to exploit this week against the Dolphins, who currently rank as the 19th-best passing defense in the league. With Miami's resurgence last week under new head coach Dan Campbell, Vegas projects them as 4.5-point favorites, meaning the Texans may have to resort to even more passing in a catch-up scenario. And you know the ball is going to Nuk in said scenario.
Hopkins is still proving to be an efficient receiver when targeted, registering a 0.80 Reception NEP per target, despite a relatively low 58.43% catch rate. That discrepancy is more of an indictment on the accuracy of his quarterbacks than bad hands. And his 71.44 Reception NEP towers above the rest of the NFL receiver class, with Julio Jones' 58.02 Reception NEP in a distant second. Basically, the surface-level stats and the analytics are both unsurprisingly confirming that Hopkins is a beast.
While I still believe that Devonta Freeman is the closest thing to un-fadeable in DFS right now, Hopkins is damn close, although his price has finally caught up with his production. As the most expensive receiver on FanDuel at $9,200, his services will cost you, so if you want to have a balanced lineup you'll either have to fade one of them or make some tough choices elsewhere. But no one could fault you for trying to cram both of them in both your cash game and tournament lineups alike.