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theramswire.usatoday.com]
Rams told DeAndre Hopkins they’d draft him or Tavon Austin in 2013 based on combine workout
Cameron DaSilva
March 8, 2023 11:08 am PT
The 2013 draft class wasn’t very rich with wide receiver talent. Only three wideouts went in the first round, with just one going in the first 25 picks. That one receiver, of course, was Tavon Austin, who was picked by the Rams at No. 8 overall out of West Virginia.
In hindsight, the Rams could’ve had DeAndre Hopkins, who was the second wideout off the board that year. They even considered taking him with their first pick, telling Hopkins as much before the NFL combine.
On the “Pat McAfee Show” Wednesday, Hopkins shared a funny story of how the Rams told him either he or Austin would be their pick at No. 8 overall – depending on which player had the better combine workout.
Austin was a speed demon and one of the most explosive players in the class, which Hopkins knew. Realizing he wouldn’t be able to compete with Austin’s speed or route running, Hopkins more or less mailed it in.
“The St. Louis Rams said they were going to draft me or Tavon Austin,” Hopkins recalled. “They said, ‘We’re taking (one of) the two of you guys with our first pick.’ It was 2013, I was the second receiver off the board, Tavon was the first to the Rams. They said, ‘Whoever has the better workout, we’re gonna draft.’ I basically tanked the workout because I knew I couldn’t compete with Tavon Austin running routes.”
“I’m like, ‘Damn, they’re going on speed and I had 18 touchdowns?’ Come on, man. Like, (expletive). Y’all take Tavon.”
Hopkins was well aware of his own speed, knowing he wouldn’t run a 4.3 or 4.4 in the 40-yard dash; he ran a 4.57. But he didn’t stress about it because he knew he couldn’t touch Tavon’s 4.3 speed.
“My whole mindset going into the combine, I was like, I know I’m not a 4.4, 4.3, so let me go ahead and run the 40. I ran a low-4.5, maybe a 4.5,” he said.
If the Rams put less emphasis on speed and agility, they could’ve wound up with Hopkins. Obviously, hindsight is 20-20 and Austin looked like a dynamic playmaker out of college, so it’s understandable that they went with him over a receiver who lasted another 19 picks on the board.
But it’s still funny to hear what St. Louis told Hopkins before the draft about their plans.
