Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has played with elite quarterbacks across his career, but when asked who he would most like to line up with next, his answer was both immediate and revealing.

Speaking to Sports Illustrated at the Kentucky Derby, Hopkins — currently a free agent after 13 seasons in the league, most recently with Baltimore —pointed directly to Joe Burrow as his preferred quarterback, citing both production and intangibles, including the QB’s early career trajectory as evidence of his ceiling.

“I gotta go with Joe Burrow,” Hopkins said. “I think Joe is one of the best. I love his game, his toughness. He took his team to a Super Bowl early in his career, and I feel like he can get back there with a little bit of help.”

Burrow led Cincinnati to Super Bowl LVI in just his second season, completing one of the quickest rises to a championship game in modern NFL history, albeit a trip that ended in a gut-wrenching loss to the Aaron Donald-led Los Angeles Rams.

For Hopkins, the appeal is obvious. Over a 13-year career, he has caught passes from a long list of quarterbacks across multiple organisations, but the chance to pair with a passer of Burrow’s calibre — one capable of elevating an offense to championship contention — clearly remains a draw.

Whether that pairing is realistic is another question. The Bengals already boast one of the league’s deepest receiving groups, headlined by Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, leaving little obvious room for another high-profile — or, perhaps specifically, high-cost — addition. The Bengals also drafted Colbie Young to their receiver room just over a week ago.

But Hopkins’ comments underline a broader league-wide sentiment: Burrow’s combination of poise, durability and high-end production continues to make Cincinnati an attractive destination, particularly for veterans still chasing another run at the Super Bowl. The quarterback’s off-field profile only reinforces why he remains such a gravitational figure for players chasing contention.

Even in the offseason, Burrow’s schedule is full. He spent last weekend at the Kentucky Derby with his parents — where his decision to wear a T-shirt received a mixed response — before heading to the Miami Grand Prix and then, less than 24 hours later, landed in New York for the Met Gala, continuing an increasingly visible presence in fashion circles.

“Fashion is just fun for me,” Burrow told Vanity Fair. “It’s a nice change of pace from the world of sport… and it’s fun for me to be able to try to merge the two and try to build within both industries… I’d just call it… fun.”

There is, though, a more grounded side to his offseason. Time in Los Angeles has been balanced with quieter routines — “doing a lot of Lego,” he said — alongside playing piano, a pursuit he picked up during injury rehab to rebuild dexterity.

“Sport and athletics is kind of performance art, in a way,” he smiled. “Our art is shown and created through our bodies and our movement.”

All of that sits against a more familiar backdrop, however, and with Cincinnati having reshaped key parts of their roster, including the signing of DT Dexter Lawrence, Burrow sounded notably energised.

“I’m really excited about the moves we made this offseason,” he said. “We need to get better… We’re in our primes playing great football… We’re really going to try to achieve what we want to achieve.”