What to do with DeAndre Hopkins? Projections and trade options explored for Titans receiver in Week 11

Since arriving at the Tennessee Titans, DeAndre Hopkins has been an intriguing option in fantasy football. After being drafted in most leagues in the third or fourth rounds, Hopkins has been disappointing overall, barring two performances.

With a 32.8-point performance (HPPR leagues) in Week 8 against the Atlanta Falcons, fantasy owners hoped his outlook was changing. That, however, hasn't exactly been the case, and Hopkins' numbers swiftly dropped to 8.50 and 4.2 in Week 9 and 10, respectively.

With Week 11 seeing the Titans take on the Jacksonville Jaguars, deciding what to do with Hopkins is no easy task. While being too good to cut, benching Hopkins only makes sense if you have a noticeably better option and due to his overall form, it will be difficult to trade for someone better.

As such, given his potential upside, you should start DeAndre Hopkins in Week 11 against the Jaguars.

DeAndre Hopkins' Week 11 fantasy outlook

DeAndre Hopkins' Week 11 fantasy outlook

While he has disappointed in the last two weeks, DeAndre Hopkins could bounce back in Week 11.

Using Sportskeeda's Start/Sit tool, we compared Hopkins' fantasy outlook to that of similar receivers in Week 11. While Hopkins is unlikely to hit CeeDee Lamb numbers, he could certainly put up enough points to push your team to victory.

DeAndre Hopkins' Week 11 fantasy outlook

Hopkins has only found the end zone three times this season and they were all in the same game, however, he does receive a good volume of targets. As such, he is likely to put up at least a solid floor in a game where the Titans will need to put up points or risk being blown out.

While the Jaguars are favorites to beat the Titans, two of the three likely game scripts could favor DeAndre Hopkins. First is a low-scoring game, where the defenses keep it close and Tennessee can focus on running the ball.

This should mean Hopkins gets a solid floor, as though he likely won't find the end zone, he may get enough third-down receptions and yards to make his projections. While this isn't exactly the best news for fantasy owners, Hopkins could break away on a play-action or deep ball, as we saw against the Atlanta Falcons.

The matchup could also be a shootout, where defenses fail to get a grip on the game and anything goes. This would benefit Hopkins greatly, but given that the Titans have only broken the 20-point barrier twice this season, this feels unlikely.

The last and worst game-script would be a blowout win for Jacksonville. The Jaguars take an early lead and run the ball and the clock, taking away Derrick Henry and the running game while putting Hopkins into double coverage.

DeAndre Hopkins has often cut a frustrated figure on the field this season. The Titans are predominantly a running team, which means Hopkins sees fewer targets than he would like. Compounding that, on several occasions when he has broken free, defenders have held or interfered with him, sometimes without a flag being thrown.

Consistent QB play has also been an issue, with Ryan Tannehill not looking his best this season before going down with an injury. The Titans briefly turned to Malik Willis, before giving rookie Will Levis the nod. That immediately helped Hopkins, who had his 3 TD display in Week 8, but he has since gone quiet.

As such, it would not be an overreaction to look for better options elsewhere at receiver, but making a good trade can be tricky.

Potential trade targets for DeAndre Hopkins

Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers - Giants vs. Raiders

Given the stage of the season, fantasy managers may find themselves in some pretty desperate situations. While it is highly unlikely you will be able to trade DeAndre Hopkins for a Ja'Marr Chase or CeeDee Lamb, you might be able to wrangle a deal for a similar player with interesting matchups.

There are several similar-performing players that you could likely land in a straight swap, such as DK Metcalf, Calvin Ridley, Marquise Brown or Amari Cooper. However, they all come with substantial risks and don't represent an obvious upgrade.

One player to consider is Jakobi Meyers. Meyers has outperformed Hopkins all season but has started to decline somewhat, posting under 4 points in two of the last three weeks (HPPR). Given that, this doesn't exactly feel like trading up, but the Las Vegas Raiders have some potential shootouts ahead.

The Raiders face the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs (twice), Minnesota Vikings, LA Chargers and Indianapolis Colts to end the season, which could mean big weeks. Be aware, however, that Meyers has a bye in Week 13, but this could help you land him now.

If you are hoping to trade up a tier for a Davante Adams or Cooper Kupp this season, you'll likely need to throw in a little extra to seal the deal. This would likely be a decent bench option to fix a weakness in your rivals' team, which could hurt your depth.

As this is often difficult, a devious trick is to tempt them with a player from the team they support and a WR3 with upside is often good leverage. For example, offering Quentin Johnston to a Chargers fan or Jaxon Smith-Njigba to a Seattle Seahawks supporter could tempt them into strengthening their bench and your lineup (at the expense of your bench and their lineup).

Unbalanced trades can make or break a season, so to ensure you are at least getting a fair deal, use Sportskeeda's trade analyzer before submitting an offer.

Players with bye weeks or short-term injuries as trade targets for DeAndre Hopkins

Alvin Kamara - Saints vs. Vikings

Unfortunately, there are not many people on bye weeks you should consider trading DeAndre Hopkins for. That said, you might be able to land Chris Olave (Saints), Alvin Kamara (Saints), Rhamondre Stevenson (Patriots) or Drake London (Falcons), who may have a higher upside than Hopkins.

While Olave or London would be a straight swap, they are both gambles but have slightly better upside than Hopkins. Being on a bye week obviously won't help you in Week 11, but it would help you trade for them.

Rhamondre Stevenson would be a slight trade up and you may have to sacrifice something extra from your bench. Alvin Kamara would be the best option by far, but landing him will be tough and you will certainly need to offer something of significant value in addition to Hopkins.

As for short-term injuries, one name stands above the rest but landing him would be challenging. Justin Jefferson is coming back off the IR and could feature this week, but there is a chance he might not be ready.

Interestingly, the Vikings have a bye in Week 13, so if Jefferson can't play this week, you might be able to land him and bolster your lineup for a late playoff push. If he is ruled out for Week 11, that would be a good time to negotiate.