DeAndre Hopkins in Big D?
With the off-season now here, it’s one of the spec moves bettors can consider regarding the Dallas Cowboys.
Unlike the team’s +1400 odds to win the Super Bowl at DraftKings, this is not a bet gamblers can wait several months to wager.
The Hopkins Relocation Saga is on and the Cowboys are at +1500. They are in the top contention tier to sign the soon-to-be-traded Arizona Cardinals receiver. Here are the teams ahead of them or at their level:
DeAndre Hopkins next team odds
New England Patriots: +350
Kansas City Chiefs: +450
Arizona Cardinals: +500
Green Bay Packers: +750
Baltimore Ravens: +900
Chicago Bears: +1000
New York Giants: +1200
Dallas Cowboys: +1500
LA Chargers: +1500
Cleveland Browns: +1500
Background
It’s no secret that the Cardinals, seeking to retool from a 4-13 disaster campaign, want to trade him at peak value.
Hopkins has two years left on his contract and wants an extension.
But the team won’t invest in the 30-year-old receiver, despite his stature as a five-time Pro Bowler.
Hopkins commands a cap number of $30.75 million this season, including a salary of $19.45 million and $11.3 million in allocations from past bonus payments.
For the Cardinals or any rebuilding team, he is expensive.
But for teams who are knocking on the door of a championship, he may not be.
Does Hopkins Fit the Cowboys?
In the short term, absolutely.
Given the injury situation, Jerry Jones signed T.Y. Hilton, a once-great receiver who did make some clutch plays for the ‘Boys but is long in the tooth.
Jones courted Odell Beckham and other names were tossed about as possible pickups for the Cowboys during the season.
Hopkins would be a monster addition, at least by the numbers.
He has more than 1,1000 receiving yards and 71 touchdowns in a 10-year career.
Fantasy football owners relate to his numbers. Hopkins was a giant in points-per-reception and yardage leagues when he played for the Houston Texans. He grabbed 115 passes in 2018, 104 in 2019 and 115 in 2020, his first year with the Cardinals.
Hopkins could actually enhance the stature of CeeDee Lamb, forcing some of the heavy defensive coverage off of him.
The success of this tandem would rely on chemistry between the two of them. Hopkins has been a star on bad teams. How does he feel about being a good player on a potentially exceptional team?
Why Jerry Jones Would Be Hesitant
The Cowboys could use him, but may have other needs. Zeke Elliott keeps sliding backwards.
Hopkins also has tailed off, playing only 10 games in 2021 because of an injury. He played just nine in 2022, having been suspended for the first six games for violating the league’s drug policy.
That means he’s played barely over one season out of the last two. The drug-violation issues will mean different things to different clubs. Teams frown on a high-profile player missing nearly the first half of the season.
Whomever acquires Hopkins must view him as a complementary piece to a team looking to get over the top.
That’s a look at the Cowboys. Here are the DraftKings leaders.
Handicapping the Hopkins Move
This is a unique situation because Hopkins is a team option.
This becomes a two-sided consideration for bettors because they must predict what the Cardinals want and what other teams can give them.
If it was a free-agent signing, gamblers would only worry about where Hopkins fits.
Johnny Avello, the director of race and sportsbook operations for DraftKings, told HowBoutThem.
“In a case like this now, you are looking at the draft coming up, whether a team will want to draft a receiver to start with or whether they will give up a player to get a player like Hopkins right now.
“This is a difficult bet for us to gauge. You can’t use power rankings to get a sense of the betting, as you would in a regular game. We rely a lot on social media, taking a look at what the player is saying and what teams are talking about.
“There is not a whole lot of betting on this right away, so it doesn’t take a whole lot to move the line. In some cases, it takes nothing, it’s just a matter of what we hear.”
Here are some pros and cons for all the top teams listed in the one area of team chemistry. This doesn’t even take into account cap space and draft priorities, as some of that fluctuates.
New England
Pros: A young team with the need for a receiving threat. Mac Jones is a good quarterback, but needs a viable scoring threat. Tom Brady had Randy Moss. Hopkins could be a miniature version of Moss, making New England more potent.
Cons: The drug violation, Hopkins’ reputation as a me-first guy and no-nonsense Bill Belichick.
Kansas City
Pros: The team never has replaced Tyreek Hill. JuJu Smith-Schuster and Kadarius Toney have played well, but Hopkins would be an upgrade.
Cons: can he get enough balls on a receiving corps centered around Travis Kelce? Nonetheless, a logical contender.
Green Bay
Pros: Aaron Rodgers, if he stays in Green Bay. He has been disillusioned about the lack of receiving talent to replace Davante Adams. Hopkins and Christian Watson would give the Pack a talented receiving corps.
Cons: Few. But should Rogers leave this is a no-man’s land for Hopkins.
Baltimore: They sure could use him. The Ravens have no deep threat.
Cons: Ravens could not keep their QB’s healthy last year. Lamar Jackson is run-first, when he plays. The Ravens may not utilize Hopkins enough.
New York Giants
Pros: They haven’t had a bonafide threat since having Odell Beckham.
Cons: They traded for Kenny Golladay and got burned. They made Kadarius Toney a first-round pick two years ago and he’s a Chief. The G-Men can’t seem to get this position right.
Chicago Bears
Pros: He can bring some punch to an offense that is Justin Fields and a prayer.
Cons: They were bad, real bad, this past year. They were a league-worst 3-14, lost 10 straight and got the No. 1 draft pick for the first time since 1947. Too far away from contention to utilize a 30-year-old veteran who may be sliding.
Gamblers have many pros and cons to weigh in potentially making this bet. But it’s a good way to start the off-season.
