Wesley Carl Hopkins (September 26, 1961 – September 28, 2018) was an American professional football player who played as a

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

during his entire 11-year

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

career from 1983 through 1993. A walk-on for the Southern Methodist football team, he was first noticed by coaches and teammates during a team practice after he made a ferocious tackle on his college teammate and future

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

running back

Eric Dickerson Eric Demetric Dickerson (born September 2, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Dickerson played college football for the Mustangs of Southern Meth ...

. Hopkins was named to the All-Conference selection in each of his last two seasons at SMU.

NFL career

Hopkins was drafted by the Eagles in the second round (35th pick overall) of the

1983 NFL Draft The 1983 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983, at the New York Sh ...

and started 14 games at free safety as a rookie. In 1985, he had a career-high 6 interceptions (including one for a touchdown) was voted Most Valuable Player on the Eagles defense and was selected to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

. In 1988, he was voted the Eagles

Ed Block Courage Award The Ed Block Courage Award is an annual award presented to a player from each team in the National Football League (NFL) who are voted for by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship, and courage. Named in memory of Ed Block, a ...

winner. As part of the Eagles vaunted "Gang Green" defense, the safety tandem of Hopkins and strong safety Andre Waters lasted from 1986 to 1993. With

Buddy Ryan James David "Buddy" Ryan (February 17, 1931 – June 28, 2016) was an American football coach in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL). During his 35-season coaching career, Ryan served as the head coach of the ...

as head coach from 1986 to 1990, the tandem were considered one of the hardest hitting and most feared safety duos in the NFL. Hopkins retired after the 1993 season and finished his career with 30 interceptions, 12 sacks and 1 touchdown.

Death

Hopkins died on September 28, 2018 at age 57. He reportedly had been in failing health for a couple of months. Former teammate Harvey Armstrong said he is fairly certain that Hopkins was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease that has been found in more than 100 former NFL players whose families donated their brains for research. "He just went into a shell, much like Andre (Waters) did," Armstrong said. "You could see some of the things he was dealing with. The depression and the anxiety and the other things that CTE causes."

References

1961 births 2018 deaths American football safeties National Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama Philadelphia Eagles players SMU Mustangs football players Ed Block Courage Award recipients {{defensiveback-1960s-stub