Mizzou Football's Most Important Players: No. 23, Daeden Hopkins

Daeden Hopkins is one of the most intriguing players on the Tigers' roster due to his combination of youth and experience, explosive playstyle and potential to be a staple in the organization. After a true freshman season that featured Hopkins in four games, including a breakout performance against Mississippi State, the redshirt freshman already has the potential to get starter snaps.

This year will be monumental for Hopkins. With his skillset and constant improvement, Hopkins can become an integral part of the team in 2026, which, as a 19-year-old, would put him ahead of the pack.

The mixture of Hopkins' youth and potential slots him in at the No. 23 spot of our most important players for the 2026 season.

Hopkins already created distance from others vying for a rotation spot last year, after his week 12 performance against Mississippi State. The true freshman recorded six tackles, a tackle for loss and half a sack in 21 snaps, rising to the occasion in the absence of Darris Smith and Langden Kitchen.

Smith is likely gearing up to be the primary edge for the Missouri Tigers, but questions still remain about who will be the primary contributors alongside him. Kitchen returned for his senior season, while transfers Kamauryn Morgan and Jaden Jones will likely fight for a starting spot as well.

Kitchen and Jones bring some veteran experience, with Kitchen appearing in 12 games last year in a Missouri uniform and Jones spending three years, although injury-riddled, at Florida State. Jones, weighing in at 257 pounds and Kitchen, listed as 264 pounds, are much heavier than the 6-foot-6, 237-pound Hopkins.

Morgan is close to Hopkins in age and weight, as a sophomore transfer from Baylor, listed at 6-foot-5, 251 pounds. Hopkins' stature is the closest to Smith, who has notably thrived at 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, due to a high degree of athleticism that Hopkins possesses as well.

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Morgan got more snaps than Hopkins last year, recording 125 snaps in his freshman season, but Hopkins learned the system at Missouri and got valuable reps while gaining a year of eligibility. Morgan and Hopkins are possibly the most interesting in the group of edges, because of their upside and ability to become consistent contributors to the program in future years.

Smith, Kitchen and Jones are all seniors this season and Hopkins still has four more years of eligibility. There's a strong chance that Hopkins could get a lot of playing time, despite having less experience, because of his age and ability to become a true star as a Missouri Tiger.

Hopkins is slightly undersized at the position, but he makes up for it in athleticism that tracks back to high school. As a consensus four-star prospect and a top-25 edge in the nation, Hopkins dominated on both sides of the ball in high school.

In his junior season, Hopkins recorded 78 tackles, 16 sacks and four forced fumbles as a defensive and tallied 968 yards and 15 touchdowns as a tight end. That type of athletic ability and upside cannot be overlooked and the Tigers are well aware of that.

The 19-year-old could undoubtedly harness a strong work ethic, emphatic run defense and athleticism to build on last season's Week 12 performance, en route to becoming either a starter or rotational piece for the Tigers this season.

30 Most Important Players Series: 30 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24

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