DeAndre Hopkins 2023 Outlook
Released by the Cardinals in late May, Hopkins will be 31 this season and his play is sliding in the wrong direction. The five-time Pro Bowl selection no longer resembles the player who caught more than 100 passes four times and racked up six 1,000-yard seasons, including three of more than 1,400. He's still a 1,000-yard threat, but it won't be achieved easily regardless of landing spot. Last season, Hopkins served a six-game suspension for a violation of the league's performance-enhancing drugs policy. After his return, he started fast with 45 receptions in a five-game span before catching just 19 balls over the next four games. Hopkins topped 100 yards in the first two games -- his lone such games of the season. His long catch was just 33 yards, and he didn't stretch the field as well as he did earlier in his career. Now he's looking for a new home. Fantasy managers should watch for developments before investing.
DeAndre Hopkins 2022 Outlook
While the Cardinals improved their receiving corps by trading for Marquise Brown during the NFL Draft, they'll also be without one of the league's best to open the 2022 season. Although he's hoping for a reduction, Hopkins has been suspended six games for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs. ... Hopkins was on the field for just 10 games in 2021 while dealing with a hamstring injury and a knee injury. The veteran finished with a career-low 42 receptions for a career-low 572 yards and a team-leading eight touchdowns. It was the first time Hopkins had missed more than one game in a season since he was selected with the 27th overall pick of the 2013 draft. The Cardinals were at a loss -- literally -- without him. "I don't want to sit here and act like I have the answer for it, because I don't," Hopkins said. "What could help us get to the next step is everybody being on the same page." And also everybody being on the field. Now, with Hopkins down for a third of the season, fantasy managers should obviously downgrade him. He could still merit WR3 value, but those drafting him obviously will have to compensate for the missed time.
DeAndre Hopkins 2021 Outlook
Since 2013, the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference annually has given the Alpha Award for the best transaction in sports. An NFL transaction never had won the award until this year, when the Cardinals' acquisition of Hopkins was deemed the best transaction of the year in all of sports. ... This comes as no surprise to fantasy managers who have benefited from Hopkins' first season in Arizona playing alongside Kyler Murray. The Cardinals acquired Hopkins and a 2020 fourth-rounder in exchange for running back David Johnson, a 2020 second-round pick and a 2021 fourth-round pick. It could end up ranking as one of the most lopsided deals in NFL history. In his first season with the Cardinals, Hopkins earned his fifth Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors and established a single-season franchise record with 115 receptions. He tied for second in the NFL in both catches and 100-yard games (seven) while his 1,407 receiving yards ranked third in the league. Hopkins' game-winning touchdown catch in the closing seconds against Buffalo -- the "Hail Murray" play -- was selected as the 2020 Clutch Performance Play of the Year at the NFL Honors ceremony in February. Expect more of the same ahead.
