NHL Best Bets for Tuesday (11/19)
Kenneth Le
After an offseason of trade rumors that apparently went nowhere, the Arizona Cardinals gave up on the idea Friday, reportedly releasing veteran WR DeAndre Hopkins. The receiver, who turns 31 next month, immediately becomes a free agent.
Hopkins has made five Pro Bowls, including his last three years in Houston in 2017-2019 and his first year in Arizona in 2020. He’s also a five-time All-Pro. He put up 10,009 over his first eight seasons, seventh most all time (behind Julio Jones, Torry Holt, Calvin Johnson, Jerry Rice, Randy Moss and Marvin Harrison), including six seasons of 1,000-plus.
Hopkins’ 2021 season, his second in Arizona, featured multiple injuries that cost him seven total games. When active, his yards per game hit its lowest point since his rookie year, at 57.2, and he averaged only 6.4 targets per game. Reaching the dreaded 30-year-old mark, there was some concern for Hopkins, and that only grew when he was handed a six-game suspension for a violation of the league’s performance-enhancing drugs policy. But Hopkins silenced many of thee concerns when he returned from suspension, getting double-digit targets seven times in nine games, reaching 717 total receiving yards and all in all looking much like his prime self when he was active.
So now, we have a 31-year-old (in a couple weeks) hitting the open market coming off 1,289 yards the last two seasons after 1,407 the year before that alone, but with plenty to point to that might indicate he’s still very good.
In Arizona, Hopkins’ departure boosts the stock of all the other offensive weapons, particularly Marquise Brown and Rondale Moore. The team is likely to start Colt McCoy at quarterback for at least the first few games of the season while Kyler Murray works his way back from an ACL tear, but Brown and Moore should be good-to-very-good fantasy options, if only from a quantity perspective, no matter who is at quarterback.
But Hopkins suddenly becomes the biggest name on the wide receiver free agent market all offseason, even among those that have already signed. Even at 31, he’ll have plenty of suitors. Here are a few teams that are likely to poke around.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs haven’t bothered to replace Tyreek Hill as an alpha receiver since his departure. They rolled with JuJu Smith-Schuster as the WR1 last year and have some combination of Kadarius Toney, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and rookie Rashee Rice. And of course Travis Kelce remains the best tight end in the game. But Hopkins would be the most reliable receiver the team has had since Hill’s departure by a lot, and the only star receiver other than Hill to pass through Kansas City in more than a decade.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills have been linked to Hopkins all offseason, if only by hopeful fans. The team didn’t make any dramatic moves at receiver this offseason, signing Deonte Harty and drafting Justin Shorter. As it stands now, 2022 relative disappointment Gabe Davis is set up to once again be the team’s No. 2 receiver, but pairing Hopkins with Stefon Diggs would arguably give the Bills the top receiver duo in the league.
Detroit Lions
The Lions had plenty of optimism at the receiver position heading into the offseason, with known quantity Amon-Ra St. Brown complemented by 2022 rookie Jameson Williams. But Williams is now suspended for six games for a violation of the league’s gambling policy, and the No. 2 receiver in Detroit is a big battle between lesser names like Marvin Jones, Josh Reynolds, Kalif Raymond and rookie Antoine Green. Hopkins would be a big boost.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts have a high-profile rookie quarterback in Anthony Richardson. For all the massive physical tools Richardson brings to the table, he’s definitely raw. But the skills might launch him into the starting lineup from Week 1, and if you’re going to start a question mark at quarterback, giving him the best weapons you can is the smart decision (see the 2022 Philadelphia Eagles or the 2022 Miami Dolphins). Richardson throwing to Hopkins and Michael Pittman would be a very exciting group.
New England Patriots
The Patriots saw Jakobi Meyers leave as a free agent this offseason, replacing him with free agent JuJu Smith-Schuster. The team’s depth chart also has DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, Tyquan Thornton and rookie Kayshon Boutte. If that is your WR2-6, it’s not bad. If it’s your WR1-5, it needs some help. Hopkins would provide that.
Other Candidates
The real story here is any team could use a receiver like DeAndre Hopkins, if he can even be an acceptable version of the player we saw last year. So this list could have every team in the league on it. But these are the next prime candidates:
- Carolina Panthers — A top weapon for rookie Bryce Young on a team that doesn’t offer many of those.
- Dallas Cowboys — The Cowboys brought in Brandin Cooks this offseason, and Michael Gallup is another year removed from his ACL tear, but Jerry Jones has never shied away from a big name.
- Atlanta Falcons — Sort of like Richardson in Indianapolis, giving Desmond Ridder Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts, Drake London and DeAndre Hopkins would paper over a whole load of potential drawbacks.
- New York Giants — The Giants added about a hundred different receiving options this offseason, but a whole lot of their weapons (Parris Campbell, Wan’Dale Robinson, Sterling Shepard, Jamison Crowder, TE Darren Waller) does their best work out of the slot. Hopkins does what most of the Giants receivers don’t.
