When the Tennessee Titans signed Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd in NFL free agency to upgrade their wide-receiver corps for quarterback Will Levis, the team might have made another player on its roster better, too.
“I’m always competing,” Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins said. “Any time we get anyone who’s a No.1 receiver, my mindset is to go out and outcompete them, outdo them. I’ve always had that mindset, Kobe Bryant being my favorite athlete of all time. Any time I get a chance to compete against anyone, I’m trying to outcompete them, trying to outdo them.
“And it’s only going to make the team better.”
In his first season with Tennessee, Hopkins led the Titans with 75 receptions for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023. A three-time first-team All-Pro, Hopkins reached 1,000 receiving yards for the seventh time in his 11 NFL seasons.
Boyd and Ridley have had two 1,000-yard seasons apiece.
Mainly a slot receiver last season, when he had 67 receptions for 667 yards and two touchdowns for the Cincinnati Bengals, Boyd reached 1,000 receiving yards in 2018 and 2019.
Ridley’s 1,000-yard seasons have come in his two most recent full NFL campaigns. The former Alabama standout had 76 receptions for 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023.
“I think this is one of the best wide-receiver groups I’ve had the chance to play with on paper,” Hopkins said. “Obviously, I could come up here and say a bunch, but we haven’t played a game yet, so we’ll see how it goes once we hit the field.”
New head coach Brian Callahan also came over from Cincinnati, where he was the offensive coordinator.
“I remember those guys went to a Super Bowl game,” Hopkins said. “Tee Higgins is one of my favorite players to watch, and Ja’Marr Chase, so I was watching those guys and what they did out there, and I feel like we can definitely replicate some of those things here. But I’ve always been a fan of that offense from afar. …
“This is an offense I’ve never played in. There’s a lot of things I could do to help this offense, so just trying to execute and be perfect. I’m a perfectionist, so I’ve definitely made some mistakes already. Just come in the next day not making those mistakes.”
A second-round draft choice from Kentucky in 2023, Levis started nine games for the Titans as a rookie. He’s slated to start from the start in 2024 after completing 149-of-255 passes for 1,808 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions in 2023.
“We have to be on the same page with Will,” Hopkins said. “We have to know what he’s thinking, what he’s doing, and be able to take his criticism, and him be able to take our criticism. It doesn’t happen just on the field; you have to build that bond.”
Tennessee returns to the field on Tuesday and has 10 practices remaining in its offseason program before breaking for the summer.
