First-round pick DeAndre Hopkins had one goal this offseason.
"It was mastering my playbook," he said Friday. "I wanted to come out here and not think about my routes so much but just go out and do it so I can come out here and run my routes smoothly."
Hopkins may have had preparation on his side, but that was no substitute for increased speed and intensity going into the NFL. The rookie wide-out noted that the margin for error is much smaller now.
"Everything that you do, you have to be on point," said Hopkins. "There's no room for any mistakes. The difference between a 10-yard route and an 11-yard route makes a big difference between these guys out here than in college."
Hopkins has been relying on fellow teammate Andre Johnson as his mentor. The Texans' all-time leading receiver has been helping to prepare Hopkins for what to expect in the league.
"Just being around guys like (WR) Andre Johnson, you see how they act and him being who he is and just watching him and just trying to do everything he does," Hopkins. "It's great. I couldn't ask to be in a better situation to watch a guy like him go to work every day."
Johnson, who finished the 2012 season with four touchdowns and a career-high 1,598 yards, is willing to share his insight with younger players to better the team's offensive weapons.
"He's told me everything that a veteran should tell a rookie," said Hopkins. "He's a guy that's on every single wide receiver out here, not just me. He's not just focusing in on just DeAndre Hopkins. He's paying attention to all the guys out here and helping all of us out. He's giving all of us great things to work on and telling us what we need to do."
With DeVier Posey not participating in training camp due to being placed on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list, Hopkins will be getting more reps. On Friday, he practiced with the first team and was pleased with his performance.
"It was a good day for me," Hopkins said. "I feel I came out and I knew my assignments pretty well. I feel like, the team and as a wide receiver corps, we had a good practice."
