UPDATE: NFL insider Adam Schefter reports the Houston Texans are trading DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals. So, there goes that option. More details:
DeAndre Hopkins and a fourth round pick go to Cards for David Johnson and a second round pick this year and a fourth round pick next year.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) March 16, 2020
The Eagles will play the Cardinals this season ... possibly in Mexico.
ORIGINAL STORY BELOW.
While the Philadelphia Eagles will almost certainly select a wide receiver (or two or three) in the 2020 NFL Draft, the team could still afford to add some veteran talent at the position. With Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor expected to be gone, DeSean Jackson is the only Week 1 starter from last year that figures to return in 2020.
The Eagles could very well sign a free agent wide receiver (or two). But how about trading for one? Howie Roseman has a reputation as the most active trader in the league, after all.
On that note, it seems worth pointing out that Houston Texans star receiver DeAndre Hopkins might be on the trading block. Check out what Peter King wrote in his most recent FMIA column:
It might be just pre-draft chatter, but two teams over the weekend told me to watch Houston and DeAndre Hopkins, who has three years and a reasonable $40 million left on his contract, and who’d cause only a $3-million cap hit to the Texans if they traded him. Houston is currently in draft hell, without a top-50 pick in 2020 and 2021, and coach Bill O’Brien has huge needs to fill on his offensive line, in the secondary and overall youth on the front seven; J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus will play this year at 31 and 30.
Hopkins, who turns 28 in June, is obviously one of the best receivers in the league. The No. 27 overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft has been named first-team All-Pro in each of his last three seasons. A look at his career stats, courtesy of Pro Football Reference:
As you can see, he’s only missed one game in his career, and that was when the Texans rested him in a meaningless Week 17 matchup last year. Durable, productive, still in his prime ... there’s a lot to like about Hopkins.
So, should the Eagles go hard after him? The option should definitely be on their radar.
I don’t think it’s necessarily the most realistic route, though. Hopkins’ base salaries over the next three seasons: $12.5 million, $13.5 million, $13.9 million. The sense I get is that the Eagles won’t be looking to spend huge money at the receiver position this offseason, in part because they know they’ll be able to acquire some inexpensive talent via the NFL Draft. But maybe I’m wrong.
Acquiring Hopkins wouldn’t address the Eagles’ need for speed. He’s not a burner; he ran a 4.57 40-yard dash (only 29th percentile) at the NFL Combine. It’s also a concern that he’s coming off the least efficient season of his career from a yards per reception standpoint.
But, speed be damned, Hopkins is a great talent. Acquiring him would allow the Eagles to replace (and, really, upgrade upon) Jeffery’s skill set. The Texans seem like a prime team for Roseman to take advantage of considering Bill O’Brien is serving as their general manager and head coaches tend not to be the best executives (see: Chip Kelly). Maybe the Eagles can get Hopkins at a more reasonable price than expected. Say, a second-round pick and a player?
Needless to say, the Eagles should be monitoring Hopkins’ availability.