Some trade rumors can be taken with a grain of salt. Derrick Henry, for example, might be traded (as discussed here), but is just as likely to stay put in Tennessee. But Arizona wideout DeAndre Hopkins seems pretty likely to be dealt, perhaps during the draft. That's a bet I'd be willing to invest in.
The Cardinals have shed some talent since the end of the season, both retirements and free agent departures. They might not have Kyler Murray fully healthy at the start of the season. And Hopkins is a soon-to-be 31-year-old wideout with a huge contract. Most have believed he'd be traded since the end of last season; it's mildly surprising it hasn't happened yet. But the next day or two is a reasonable time for such a trade to finally occur.
There were rumors of him joining former teammate Deshaun Watson in Cleveland, but they traded for Elijah Moore. Going to Kansas City would be intriguing, but they have seemed content with their current options. (So far.) Perhaps the Jets, who were supposedly in on Odell Beckham, but they're a little short on picks after finally acquiring Aaron Rodgers. Maybe the Packers themselves, helping out new starter Jordan Love (and annoying Rodgers all the more by finally bringing in a star wideout after shipping Rodgers out).
Wherever Hopkins ends up, I'm going to be interested. Landing spot matter, but with the right team -- let's say he does go to Kansas City -- there's top 10 or 15 potential. Over the last five years, two with Houston and three with Arizona, he's been one of the league's busiest wideouts.
In those years, Hopkins has averaged just slightly under 7 receptions per game. That's more than all but two wide receivers (minimum of 50 games), Davante Adams and Cooper Kupp. His 82 yards per game ranks 5th among those players. Data from pro-football-reference.com was used in compiling this table.
| WIDE RECEIVERS PER GAME (50-PLUS GAMES), 2018-2022 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | G | Rec | Yds | TD | Y/G | Rec/G |
| Davante Adams | 74 | 532 | 6826 | 61 | 92.2 | 7.2 |
| Cooper Kupp | 65 | 446 | 5460 | 41 | 84.0 | 6.9 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | 66 | 440 | 5433 | 35 | 82.3 | 6.7 |
| Keenan Allen | 72 | 473 | 5277 | 30 | 73.3 | 6.6 |
| Justin Jefferson | 50 | 324 | 4825 | 25 | 96.5 | 6.5 |
| Stefon Diggs | 79 | 503 | 6340 | 44 | 80.3 | 6.4 |
| Tyreek Hill | 77 | 462 | 6564 | 50 | 85.2 | 6.0 |
| Chris Godwin | 71 | 412 | 5141 | 31 | 72.4 | 5.8 |
| Diontae Johnson | 64 | 340 | 3646 | 20 | 57.0 | 5.3 |
| Julio Jones | 60 | 318 | 4575 | 20 | 76.3 | 5.3 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster | 65 | 343 | 3871 | 22 | 59.6 | 5.3 |
| Robert Woods | 73 | 364 | 4372 | 20 | 59.9 | 5.0 |
| Adam Thielen | 71 | 354 | 4158 | 45 | 58.6 | 5.0 |
| Amari Cooper | 79 | 392 | 5333 | 37 | 67.5 | 5.0 |
| Tyler Lockett | 80 | 396 | 5284 | 45 | 66.1 | 5.0 |
| Mike Evans | 76 | 374 | 5846 | 49 | 76.9 | 4.9 |
| Allen Robinson | 67 | 326 | 3900 | 21 | 58.2 | 4.9 |
| Tyler Boyd | 77 | 370 | 4505 | 26 | 58.5 | 4.8 |
| Terry McLaurin | 63 | 299 | 4281 | 21 | 68.0 | 4.7 |
| Brandin Cooks | 74 | 350 | 4673 | 22 | 63.1 | 4.7 |
| D.K. Metcalf | 66 | 306 | 4218 | 35 | 63.9 | 4.6 |
| Jarvis Landry | 68 | 313 | 3832 | 16 | 56.4 | 4.6 |
| Cole Beasley | 66 | 302 | 3145 | 14 | 47.7 | 4.6 |
| A.J. Brown | 60 | 273 | 4491 | 35 | 74.9 | 4.6 |
| D.J. Moore | 80 | 364 | 5201 | 21 | 65.0 | 4.6 |
| Marquise Brown | 58 | 262 | 3070 | 24 | 52.9 | 4.5 |
| Christian Kirk | 73 | 320 | 4010 | 25 | 54.9 | 4.4 |
| Deebo Samuel | 51 | 223 | 3230 | 12 | 63.3 | 4.4 |
| Hunter Renfrow | 56 | 244 | 2629 | 17 | 46.9 | 4.4 |
| Emmanuel Sanders | 57 | 240 | 3089 | 18 | 54.2 | 4.2 |
| Jamison Crowder | 53 | 223 | 2427 | 16 | 45.8 | 4.2 |
| Marvin Jones | 71 | 292 | 3626 | 30 | 51.1 | 4.1 |
| T.Y. Hilton | 52 | 207 | 2985 | 19 | 57.4 | 4.0 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 60 | 235 | 2758 | 8 | 46.0 | 3.9 |
| Mike Williams | 75 | 279 | 4462 | 30 | 59.5 | 3.7 |
| Courtland Sutton | 65 | 239 | 3487 | 14 | 53.6 | 3.7 |
| Curtis Samuel | 66 | 240 | 2655 | 18 | 40.2 | 3.6 |
| DeVante Parker | 64 | 230 | 3358 | 19 | 52.5 | 3.6 |
| Chosen Anderson | 79 | 270 | 3428 | 20 | 43.4 | 3.4 |
| Michael Gallup | 69 | 232 | 3326 | 19 | 48.2 | 3.4 |
| Russell Gage | 74 | 244 | 2491 | 14 | 33.7 | 3.3 |
| Nelson Agholor | 74 | 219 | 2830 | 20 | 38.2 | 3.0 |
| Zay Jones | 80 | 226 | 2391 | 14 | 29.9 | 2.8 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 80 | 211 | 2746 | 17 | 34.3 | 2.6 |
With Hopkins, and other veterans potentially on the move, it might happen after the first round. A team that misses out on a college player it wants might then be willing to ship out a second-rounder, or something (because of the size of his contract, nearly $20 million in base salary this year, he might be available even cheaper) to bring in Hopkins.
Either way, I don't think Hopkins will be in Arizona much longer. In the right spot, he can still be one of the game's top-producing wideouts. We should find out where soon.
--Andy Richardson