Patriots’ Matthew Judon Makes Another Pitch To DeAndre Hopkins

If the Patriots ultimately don’t land DeAndre Hopkins, it won’t be due to a lack of trying from Matthew Judon.

Judon spent the NFL offseason as a de-facto member of New England’s front office. The star pass-rusher publicly made recruiting pitches to a slew of the league’s top players, including Hopkins, who Judon first started courting all the way back in early March. Judon’s dreams of Hopkins catching passes from Mac Jones became a bit more realistic in late May when the Arizona Cardinals released the star wide receiver.

The Patriots reportedly will be among the teams that will talk shop with Hopkins, who’s set to start his free agency tour Sunday in Tennessee. But before Bill Belichick and company break bread with “Nuke,” Judon did his part by offering to match the charity donation of a New England fan who made a pitch to Hopkins via Twitter DM on Saturday.

Judon isn’t the only Patriots player who wants Hopkins to take his talents to Foxboro, Mass. So too does Kendrick Bourne, even though the seventh-year pro potentially could be sent packing if New England’s wide receiver room becomes too crowded via a Hopkins addition.

Hopkins reportedly will visit the Patriots sometime this week. The five-time Pro Bowl selection has a big fan in Belichick, and the scheduled meeting suggests there’s no real issue between Hopkins and New England offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien.