Nothing against rookie first-rounder DeShaun Watson, but when it comes to the Houston Texans' quarterback competition, the team's top wide receiver is Team Tom Savage.
"If anybody should be a judge of quarterbacks, I've played with the most quarterbacks in NFL history throughout my first four years," DeAndre Hopkins said after practice Friday. "So I put the stamp on Savage, and I think that's all that needs to be said about that."
It's certainly not all that will be said about before this camp ends. And there remains a chance Watson wins the job by the end of camp or at least during the season. But here at the Greenbrier, where the Texans practice, there's a clear depth chart delineation right now. Savage has taken all of the first-team reps so far in camp, while Watson has worked exclusively with the second team.
Savage is the incumbent, having spent three years with the Texans and started two games for them last season due to the struggles of Brock Osweiler. Watson may be the more exciting prospect, and the national college champion for whom the Texans moved up in the first round this April. But Hopkins is a believer that the Texans can win with the guy who was already here.
"I've played with at least 10 quarterbacks," Hopkins said. "So because of what [Savage] does well, and what he can do for this team, I know he can help us win what we want to win. He does everything well. He's a student of the game, from just being on the bench, watching and learning from other people's mistakes, seeing what they've done wrong. He can put the ball in any place. He has a strong arm. He has a knowledge of this offense. He's been in this offense his whole career."
The brief Osweiler era in Houston didn't go well, and Hopkins seemed to struggle to find a connection with 2016's big free-agent signing. After a 2015 season in which he became the first receiver in NFL history to record 100-yard games with four different quarterbacks, Hopkins had only two such games last year with Osweiler. His reception total dropped from 111 in 2015 to 78 last year, his yardage total from 1,521 to 954 and his touchdown catches from 11 to four. Yet he declined to call it a frustrating year.