Hopkins: Savage deserves to be Texans' starting QB

There's no question who the Houston Texans' starting quarterback should be, according to DeAndre Hopkins.

Though the team traded up to the No. 12 pick in the first round of this year's draft to select quarterback Deshaun Watson, the Texans' star receiver believes the job belongs to Tom Savage.

Savage has just five games and two starts on his resume, but he took over for an ineffective Brock Osweiler late last season and likely would have started in Houston's wild-card playoff game had he not suffered a concussion in the regular-season finale.

"I like his leadership," Hopkins told Sarah Barshop of ESPN. "From last year, when he wasn't playing on the field, he was still showing the guys, telling us what we should do, helping us out like he was the starting quarterback. Now that he's in that role, it's no surprise to anybody on this field that he deserves that role.

"He has earned it, not just from playing, but from the chemistry he has built in the locker room with everybody."

Hopkins rates chemistry and camaraderie very highly, and believes the offense, with Savage, has the foundation necessary for a winner.

"The teams you see winning championships are teams that are close, not just on the field but off the field," he said. "You look at teams that won championships and you look at the players, and you can tell they're not just teammates, they're friends as well."

Watson is expected to challenge for the starting job. He even received the endorsement of U.S. President Donald Trump recently. If it's up to Hopkins, however, the rookie will have to wait to display his skills at the NFL level.