The Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl without a star wide receiver, but they could reportedly make an elite offense even scarier by acquiring DeAndre Hopkins.
NFL insider Benjamin Albright told PHNX Cardinals that Kansas City is the "primary suitor" for Hopkins. He doesn't know the draft compensation the Cardinals would receive, but he said it's more likely they get a second-round pick than a first.
After the 2022 season, theScore's Jordan Schultz reported that the Cardinals plan to trade Hopkins this offseason.
Arizona hired a new general manager and head coach after a disappointing four-win season, and Hopkins is set to make $19.45 million (with a $30.75 million cap hit) in 2023. The Cardinals could seek a clean slate by moving the three-time All-Pro wideout, who turns 31 in June.
Hopkins began his Cardinals career by tallying 1,407 yards and six touchdowns in 2020. However, multiple lower body injuries limited him to 10 games in 2021, and he served a six-game suspension to start the 2022 season for violating the NFL's PED policy.
Yet he remains an impact player when on the field. Hopkins totaled 474 receiving yards in six full games with quarterback Kyler Murray last season.
Now imagine what he can accomplish when catching passes from Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs flourished without a star replacement for Tyreek Hill, but they could still benefit by solidifying the position this offseason. JuJu Smith-Schuster is a free agent after garnering 78 catches for 933 yards on a one-year deal. The depth chart features several talented question marks in Mecole Hardman, Kadarius Toney, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Adding Hopkins could be great news for Kansas City, but terrible for all opposing defenses.
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Originally Posted by The Franchise:
If you could tell me that we were guaranteed to get the OBJ that helped the Rams win the Super Bowl? Then I'd be in on him but those injuries are just hard to ignore.
Wasn't that the point in the workouts, though?
Granted, it's not live game action, but you can get a decent read for what burst he has/has not recovered since the injury. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
But there will be several teams willing to give a 3, IMO. And we'll be at the back of that line with the least valuable 3.
So I think the Chiefs would need to pony up the 2. And to close the gap between the late 2 we're giving up vs. the mid-3 that most other teams would be giving up, we'll want a pick back in the deal. Since the Cardinals are drafting pretty high, our late 2 for their early 4 isn't much of a value added proposition for them so it would likely need to be a 5.
Or maybe we go with a late 2 and late 5 for Hop and an early 4.
I dunno - there are parts that can move around, but remember that we lose any ties by virtue of our draft position so we'll have to view this as surrendering a round 'ahead' of what the standard value is likely to be.
Throw in another pick in 2024 then to sweeten the deal. Make that shit conditional on what he does. I think if anyone was offering anything close to what the Cardinals wanted (a 2nd round pick is what's reported) then shit would have been done by now. I also don't think there are a ton of teams in on him either. [Reply]
Originally Posted by The Franchise:
Throw in another pick in 2024 then to sweeten the deal. Make that shit conditional on what he does. I think if anyone was offering anything close to what the Cardinals wanted (a 2nd round pick is what's reported) then shit would have been done by now. I also don't think there are a ton of teams in on him either.
That works as well.
Hey, if we can get him for a 3 and a conditional 3/4 in 2024 - so much the better.
Just not sure what his market is at the moment. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
That works as well.
Hey, if we can get him for a 3 and a conditional 3/4 in 2024 - so much the better.
Just not sure what his market is at the moment.
That's about where I'm at. A 2023 3rd and a conditional 3/4 in 2024. Get him in here and redo his contract like you said.
Kelce
Hopkins
MVS
Toney
Moore
That's a pretty good top 5 to be working with. And I'd still find a WR somewhere in the draft to develop. But bringing in Hopkins allows them to go DE and DT high in the draft. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
That works as well.
Hey, if we can get him for a 3 and a conditional 3/4 in 2024 - so much the better.
Just not sure what his market is at the moment.
I can’t see him fetching a 2nd. He’s just not worth that anymore. I think you’re spot on with the market being a 3rd.
I think Hopkins could easily take over and provide a lot for us. His reputation and ability alone demands attention from defenses. At the cost it would be a great pick up for us. [Reply]
Even if you trade for Hopkins, I still think you find a rookie WR that can be your deep threat. You won't need him a ton this year because you have MVS for that role but you can get out of his contract next year. You'd have Hopkins and Kelce as your top 2. Toney would be your kind of "do everything", Moore would be your slot and the rookie would be your deep threat. [Reply]
Originally Posted by The Franchise:
I'm a self proclaimed idiot but it didn't look to me like he was back to his usual burst.
Oh don't get me wrong, I wouldn't even attempt to draw conclusions from it. That ain't my job.
But if the Chiefs are convinced, that IS their job. They obviously have a better eye for that sort of thing than we do.
It's just so hard for us mere normies to recognize 'fast' from 'NFL Fast' without having them actually competing against a live body in game action.
You have me watch a guy throwing 85 and I'm gonna think "holy shit, that's fast!" Then you put a batter in there and those things are going 400 ft and you realize that it ain't MLB fast.
Meanwhile a scout's gonna see the guy throwing 85 and realize that ain't shit even without the batter in the box.
If the Chiefs are still interested, it suggests he ain't throwing 85. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
Oh don't get me wrong, I wouldn't even attempt to draw conclusions from it. That ain't my job.
But if the Chiefs are convinced, that IS their job. They obviously have a better eye for that sort of thing than we do.
It's just so hard for us mere normies to recognize 'fast' from 'NFL Fast' without having them actually competing against a live body in game action.
You have me watch a guy throwing 85 and I'm gonna think "holy shit, that's fast!" Then you put a batter in there and those things are going 400 ft and you realize that it ain't MLB fast.
Meanwhile a scout's gonna see the guy throwing 85 and realize that ain't shit even without the batter in the box.
If the Chiefs are still interested, it suggests he ain't throwing 85.
Him only getting lowball offers tells me that there are a ton of teams who are just as worried. [Reply]