During Wednesday's OTA practice, quarterback Lamar Jackson threw a high pass to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins that forced him to make a leaping catch.
The ball stuck to Hopkins' hands like honey.
How sweet could the addition of Hopkins be for the Ravens' offense? Just listen to his teammates, who are clearly impressed.
"[DeAndre Hopkins] looks great," said tight end Mark Andrews. "He looks really, really good. He's been making some big plays, and I think he's going to be great for our offense, just being versatile, having a guy that catches the ball extremely well, runs really fluid routes and knows the game well. And he looks like, when he's out here, he's flying around. He's looked really good."
Hopkins inked a one-year deal with Baltimore in March. With Julio Jones' retirement in April, Hopkins is now the NFL's all-time active leader in receiving yards (12,965). Derrick Henry, Hopkins' former teammate with the Tennessee Titans, is the league's all-time active leader in rushing yards (11,423).
As early as 2020, Hopkins thought about the potential of an offense that included Jackson and Henry when they posed together for a picture at NFL Honors.
Now that dream of sharing the field with Jackson and Henry has become reality, and they're part of an offense with enormous firepower. The Ravens had the NFL's top-ranked offense in 2024 and became the first team in NFL history to have 4000 passing yards and 3000 rushing yards in the same regular season.
Having Hopkins at OTAs this early gives him even more time to settle into Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken's system. He's always been a meticulous route runner, capable of breaking free on short, intermediate and deep routes. It's early, but the potential for Hopkins to flourish is obvious, as he joins a wide receiver room that includes Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman, who are both coming off their best seasons.
"First of all, I think he's a heck of a football player," Head Coach John Harbaugh said after Wednesday's practice. "Obviously, you saw him today. He's a gifted guy. He's a talented guy. He's going to be a big-body, contested-catch receiver for us, certainly.
"He's moving great. Plus, he brings all that experience. He's been in big games before. He's made plays in the big games. He knows how to make plays. There's not going to be any situation that's going to be too big for him, but I just thought he and Lamar [Jackson] looked really good today out there together. It was nice to see."
Hopkins will turn 33 on June 6, but for anyone questioning his speed, he posted some running times from Wednesday's practice to show he's one of the team's quickest players.
Joining the Ravens puts Hopkins in a locker room loaded with players thirsting to win their first Super Bowl. A few months ago, Hopkins was with the Kansas City Chiefs, who lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX. Now Hopkins is focused on helping Baltimore reach the Super Bowl and win it, and his teammates are already impressed with his work ethic and attitude.
"Just watching how he practices as a pro, since I've seen him, he's always smiling out here, always having fun," tight end Isaiah Likely said. "I didn't know that he was going to be as funny as he is. Now that he's grown accustomed to really the Ravens, he's going to see how funny we actually are.
"We have a bunch of playmakers on the field at all times where everybody can go distance, so I feel like when the plays are there to be made, whether the ball is in his hands, whether he's blocking down the field, whether it's those crucial situations on third down, whenever or in the red zone, he's going to be there to make those plays."
