HOUSTON -- Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was named an Associated Press first-team All-Pro on Friday. The players are selected by a panel of fifty NFL writers and broadcasters.
Hopkins nearly matched the best season of his career with 96 catches for 1,378 yards and 13 touchdowns. The fifth-year receiver led the NFL in touchdown receptions and broke his own franchise record set in 2015. Hopkins did that while playing with four different quarterbacks in 2017: Tom Savage, Deshaun Watson, T.J. Yates and Taylor Heinicke.
Last month, head coach Bill O'Brien said he didn't "think there's any doubt" that Hopkins deserved to be named to the All-Pro team and the Pro Bowl.
"This guy, the type of year he's had with different quarterbacks, the catches that he's made," O’Brien said. "I think he's the best receiver in the league. He's big, he's strong, he's got great ability on the sideline, he's such a great competitor on Sundays, he wants the ball, he wants the ball thrown to him.
"There's no doubt that I think he should be [named to the] All-Pro team, the All-22 team, that's the one that I look at and that's the one he should be on, no doubt about it."
Hopkins is the first Texans receiver to be named a first-team All-Pro since Andre Johnson in 2009. Hopkins was named a second-team AP All-Pro in 2015.
Hopkins signed a five-year, $81 million contract extension in August with a wide-receiver record $49 million guaranteed.
