DeAndre Hopkins called back to an iconic Geno Smith line after scoring 3 TDs against the Falcons

There’s no need to dance around the obvious. DeAndre Hopkins is one of the best receivers of his generation. But at the age of 31, while somewhat languishing with the Tennessee Titans this season, some had begun to wonder whether he still had the capacity to play like a No. 1 receiver.

On Sunday, Hopkins used the Atlanta Falcons to give the best response to these questions when he lit them up for four receptions, 128 yards, and three touchdowns. This resembled far more of the player we remembered from his respective heydays with the Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans. Hopkins was so great with this “Randy Moss” line that he helped Titans rookie Will Levis enjoy quite the starting debut.

After the game, Hopkins gave himself his flowers in a fantastic way that called back to recent NFL lore. In a selfie video, Hopkins quoted Geno Smith’s celebrated “they wrote me off, I ain’t write them back, though” line from last season in reference to his individual dominance against Atlanta.

I absolutely love every part of this:

"They wrote me off. I feel like Geno." – @DeAndreHopkins pic.twitter.com/eyaJT0Y1mh

— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2023

That’s the power of Smith’s own resurgence in Seattle. His second act has clearly resonated with Hopkins, one of pro football’s more prominent stars over the last decade. And now, Hopkins can channel him as he builds the next act of his prolific receiving career.