Brycen Hopkins


Brycen Avery Hopkins is an American football tight end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League. He played college football at Purdue.

Early life and high school

Hopkins grew up in Nashville, Tennessee and attended The Ensworth School. He initially focused on basketball and did not play organized football until his junior year. He was named Division II-AA All-State as a senior. Rated a two-star prospect by Rivals.com and three-star prospect by 247Sports.com, Hopkins committed to play college football at Purdue. He was offered a scholarship by the school after impressing then-recruiting coordinator Gerad Parker with his physicality in a pickup basketball game.

College career

Hopkins redshirted his true freshman season at Purdue. He had 10 receptions for 183 and four touchdowns while serving as the second string tight end as a redshirt freshman and caught three passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns against Iowa. Hopkins remained the second-string tight end for Purdue as a redshirt sophomore, but finished the season with 25 receptions for 349 yards and three touchdowns. As a redshirt junior, Hopkins finished third on the team with 34 receptions and 583 receiving yards with two touchdowns and was named honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference.
Hopkins entered his redshirt senior season on the watchlist for the Mackey Award. He was named the John Mackey Award Tight End of the Week after catching six passes for 84 yards and a touchdown in the season opener against Vanderbilt on August 30, 2019 and again after posting 10 passes for 140 yards against Maryland on October 12. Hopkins finished the season with 61 receptions for 830 yards and seven touchdowns and was named first team All-Big Ten, the Kwalick–Clark Tight End of the Year and a semifinalist for the Mackey Award. He finished his collegiate career with 130 catches for 1,945 and 16 touchdowns. Hopkins was named a second team All-American by CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, and USA Today.

Professional career

On April 25, 2020, Hopkins was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the fourth round,, in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Personal life

Hopkins is the son of former Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Brad Hopkins.