The Cardinals released DeAndre Hopkins last week, and initial reports supposed a huge battle for his services between championship contenders Buffalo and Kansas City. A week later, at least one of those teams is apparently out of the running, and there may be a different favorite for his services.
Hopkins might like to play with Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen on a playoff team, all things being equal, but it's not a requirement. He's "prepared to be patient," according to an ESPN story, suggesting he hasn't been getting the financial offers he's looking for. Another report says he's open to returning to Houston, making it clear that a Super Bowl anytime soon is not going to determine where he ends up. Then one yesterday said Cleveland, and his former quarterback Deshaun Watson, is the front runner.
Hopkins turns 31 next week, and due to a PED suspension and then an injury, he's missed 15 games the last two seasons. But if he's slowing down at all, it's not apparent in his numbers. A year ago, in a lesser situation in Arizona, he racked up his usual kind of production, little different from what he's been doing for years.
Over the last six years, 49 wide receivers who have played at least half the season have averaged 17 fantasy points (PPR) per game. Hopkins has done it in five of those years, including 2022.
WIDE RECEIVERS FANTASY POINTS PER GAME, 2017-2022 | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | G | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | PPR | FF/G |
2021 | Cooper Kupp, LAR | 17 | 191 | 145 | 1947 | 13.4 | 16 | 439.5 | 25.9 |
2020 | Davante Adams, G.B. | 14 | 149 | 115 | 1374 | 12.0 | 18 | 360.4 | 25.7 |
2019 | Michael Thomas, N.O. | 16 | 185 | 149 | 1725 | 11.6 | 9 | 374.6 | 23.4 |
2022 | Cooper Kupp, LAR | 9 | 98 | 75 | 812 | 10.8 | 6 | 203.4 | 22.6 |
2017 | Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 14 | 163 | 101 | 1533 | 15.2 | 9 | 310.3 | 22.2 |
2018 | Davante Adams, G.B. | 15 | 169 | 111 | 1386 | 12.5 | 13 | 329.6 | 22.0 |
2020 | Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 15 | 135 | 87 | 1276 | 14.7 | 15 | 328.9 | 21.9 |
2022 | Justin Jefferson, Min. | 17 | 184 | 128 | 1809 | 14.1 | 8 | 369.0 | 21.7 |
2018 | Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 15 | 168 | 104 | 1297 | 12.5 | 15 | 323.7 | 21.6 |
2021 | Davante Adams, G.B. | 16 | 169 | 123 | 1553 | 12.6 | 11 | 344.3 | 21.5 |
2021 | Deebo Samuel, S.F. | 16 | 121 | 77 | 1405 | 18.3 | 6 | 343.2 | 21.5 |
2018 | DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 16 | 163 | 115 | 1572 | 13.7 | 11 | 337.5 | 21.1 |
2018 | Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 16 | 137 | 87 | 1479 | 17.0 | 12 | 334.0 | 20.9 |
2017 | DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 15 | 174 | 96 | 1378 | 14.4 | 13 | 311.8 | 20.8 |
2018 | Julio Jones, Atl. | 16 | 170 | 113 | 1677 | 14.8 | 8 | 329.9 | 20.6 |
2020 | Stefon Diggs, Buff. | 16 | 166 | 127 | 1535 | 12.1 | 8 | 328.6 | 20.5 |
2022 | JaMarr Chase, Cin. | 12 | 134 | 87 | 1046 | 12.0 | 9 | 246.4 | 20.5 |
2022 | Tyreek Hill, Mia. | 17 | 170 | 119 | 1710 | 14.4 | 7 | 347.2 | 20.4 |
2018 | Michael Thomas, N.O. | 16 | 147 | 125 | 1405 | 11.2 | 9 | 319.5 | 20.0 |
2022 | Stefon Diggs, Buff. | 16 | 154 | 108 | 1429 | 13.2 | 11 | 316.6 | 19.8 |
2022 | Davante Adams, L.V. | 17 | 180 | 100 | 1516 | 15.2 | 14 | 335.5 | 19.7 |
2019 | Chris Godwin, T.B. | 14 | 121 | 86 | 1333 | 15.5 | 9 | 276.1 | 19.7 |
2021 | Justin Jefferson, Min. | 17 | 167 | 108 | 1616 | 15.0 | 10 | 332.8 | 19.6 |
2018 | Odell Beckham, NYG | 12 | 124 | 77 | 1052 | 13.7 | 6 | 233.4 | 19.5 |
2018 | Adam Thielen, Min. | 16 | 153 | 113 | 1373 | 12.2 | 9 | 309.3 | 19.3 |
2020 | Calvin Ridley, Atl. | 15 | 143 | 90 | 1374 | 15.3 | 9 | 283.5 | 18.9 |
2018 | JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 16 | 166 | 111 | 1426 | 12.9 | 7 | 298.9 | 18.7 |
2018 | Mike Evans, T.B. | 16 | 138 | 86 | 1524 | 17.7 | 8 | 292.4 | 18.3 |
2019 | Julio Jones, Atl. | 15 | 157 | 99 | 1394 | 14.1 | 6 | 274.1 | 18.3 |
2020 | DeAndre Hopkins, Ariz. | 16 | 160 | 115 | 1407 | 12.2 | 6 | 291.8 | 18.2 |
2019 | DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 15 | 150 | 104 | 1165 | 11.2 | 7 | 270.6 | 18.0 |
2021 | JaMarr Chase, Cin. | 17 | 128 | 81 | 1455 | 18.0 | 13 | 306.6 | 18.0 |
2019 | Mike Evans, T.B. | 13 | 118 | 67 | 1157 | 17.3 | 8 | 232.7 | 17.9 |
2019 | Davante Adams, G.B. | 12 | 127 | 83 | 997 | 12.0 | 5 | 214.7 | 17.9 |
2022 | A.J. Brown, Phil. | 17 | 145 | 88 | 1496 | 17.0 | 11 | 303.6 | 17.9 |
2020 | A.J. Brown, Ten. | 14 | 106 | 70 | 1075 | 15.4 | 11 | 249.5 | 17.8 |
2020 | Keenan Allen, LAC | 14 | 147 | 100 | 992 | 9.9 | 8 | 249.1 | 17.8 |
2017 | Keenan Allen, LAC | 16 | 159 | 102 | 1393 | 13.7 | 6 | 284.2 | 17.8 |
2018 | Stefon Diggs, Min. | 15 | 149 | 102 | 1021 | 10.0 | 9 | 266.3 | 17.8 |
2022 | CeeDee Lamb, Dall. | 17 | 156 | 107 | 1359 | 12.7 | 9 | 301.6 | 17.7 |
2021 | Chris Godwin, T.B. | 14 | 127 | 98 | 1103 | 11.3 | 5 | 246.4 | 17.6 |
2021 | Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 17 | 159 | 111 | 1239 | 11.2 | 9 | 298.5 | 17.6 |
2021 | Diontae Johnson, Pitt. | 16 | 169 | 107 | 1161 | 10.9 | 8 | 278.4 | 17.4 |
2018 | Julian Edelman, N.E. | 12 | 108 | 74 | 850 | 11.5 | 6 | 207.9 | 17.3 |
2020 | Will Fuller, Hou. | 11 | 75 | 53 | 879 | 16.6 | 8 | 188.9 | 17.2 |
2020 | Justin Jefferson, Min. | 16 | 125 | 88 | 1400 | 15.9 | 7 | 274.2 | 17.1 |
2020 | DK Metcalf, Sea. | 16 | 129 | 83 | 1303 | 15.7 | 10 | 273.3 | 17.1 |
2022 | DeAndre Hopkins, Ari. | 9 | 96 | 64 | 717 | 11.2 | 3 | 153.7 | 17.1 |
2018 | T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 14 | 120 | 76 | 1270 | 16.7 | 6 | 239.0 | 17.1 |
Buffalo, short on cap room, is reportedly out of the running for Hopkins. Kansas City was supposedly interested in trading for him earlier in the offseason, but there hasn't been much confirmation of current interest (and the team was content to operate without a go-to wideout a year ago and did just fine).
I'd be interested in Hopkins going to the Giants. It's maybe not the best landing spot for his value, but it is the team that seems the most suspect at wide receiver. Perhaps the Saints figure out a way to add him, if Michael Thomas fails to get healthy.
The Browns would be less than ideal. They have Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and a couple of youngsters, all of whom would be negatively affected by Hopkins moving in as lead dog. Especially Cooper, since Kevin Stefanski’s offense producing a pair of top-20 wide receivers would be new, even if Watson returns to peak form.
But Hopkins himself doesn’t seem to have lost much, at least based on the numbers.
--Andy Richardson