Texans’ DeAndre Hopkins featured on Sports Illustrated cover – Chron.com

Houston Texans star receiver DeAndre Hopkins graces the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated, which features rising stars in the league.

Sports Illustrated put together four different regional covers with Hopkins joining the Packers’ Mike Daniels, the Panthers’ Trai Turner and the Rams’ Aaron Donald as coverboys.

The Hopkins cover, which will reach subscribers this week and hit newsstands Monday, will be distributed throughout the state of Texas as well as Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana.

Hopkins is the first Texans players not named J.J. Watt to appear on a Sports Illustrated cover since David Carr in 2002.

The cover of the magazine featuring Hopkins has the headline: “The Next Wave: The new game changers are here.” It also has a quote about Hopkins from Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman: “He has the things you can’t coach, the things you can’t teach.”

Inside the magazine, Sports Illustrated’s Greg Bedard writes about how Hopkins, Daniels, Turner and Donald are taking advantage of changes in the game to become the best at their positions.

The magazine also has a behind-the-scenes look at how the University of Houston prepared to upset Oklahoma in the opening week of college football.

Browse through the photos to see other times Houston sports teams have been featured on Sports Illustrated covers.