TEXANS TRADE HOPKINS TO CARDS IN NFL SHOCKER
Houston coach/gm O’brien again shows he’s out of his element evaluating talent
The Houston Texans’ trading of superstar wide receiver Deandre Hopkins on Monday to the Arizona Cardinals made sense to Texans head coach and GM Bill O’brien.
If you can find a second person, anywhere, who thinks likewise, please alert the world via social media.
It’s hard to think of a major sports trade as stupid as this deal.
At first, when news initially broke on Monday, only the identity of the player coming to Houston leaked out. Running back David Johnson is arguably one of the top run-andcatch backs in the league when healthy.
The Twittersphere then speculated on what elements might have completed the trade. Some wags even joked that, you watch, Hopkins — whom Peter King of NBC Sports reported Monday morning might well be on the trade block — would be the one going back to the Cardinals in return.
There was laughter all around. The laughing stopped and the jaws dropped, though, when John Mcclain of the Houston Chronicle tweeted out the entire deal a short while later: Johnson, a 2020 Round 2 draft pick and a 2021 Round 4 draft pick to Houston, for Hopkins and 2020 Round 4 pick in return.
Yes, Hopkins. No joke. Spotrac.com, the pro-sports salary tracking website, may have summed it up best in this tweet: “Imagine making a trade where you could have paid Deandre Hopkins $12.5 million this year, but instead you’re choosing to pay David Johnson $11.25 million.”
Right. One could argue, as O’brien surely will when hauled into his owner’s office at some point, that the trade essentially is a swap of disgruntled players due to make about the same big money in 2020.
But Johnson is no longer a Top 5 running back, whereas Hopkins sure as heck remains a Top 5 receiver. Even if Johnson were a Top 5 running back, he would be nowhere near as valuable as a Top 5 wideout.
The 27-year-old Hopkins’ resume glistens.
He’s been named All-pro in each of the past three years and to the Pro Bowl four times.
While missing only two career games, he’s averaged 101 catches over the past five seasons, for an annual average of 1,318 yards and 8.4 total touchdowns. That’s magnificent.
What head coach would want to get rid of such a superstar at the peak of his incredible abilities? Well, Bill O’brien.
It’s no secret that he, as the Texans’ chief offensive strategist and play-caller, and Hopkins did not get along in Houston. Over play-calling differences, and who knows what else behind the scenes. Personality conflict, whatever.
Surely there were other NFL head coaches this past season who occasionally were at their wit’s end with their No. 1 receiver, too. But Hopkins is nothing at all like the selfishly bent Antonio Brown was in the final, meltdown years of his nine-year stint in Pittsburgh.
But even if you wanted to trade a receiver of Hopkins’ quality, O’brien got far too little in return. He didn’t land a firstround draft pick.
Worse if you’re a Texans fan, this was O’brien’s third major trade since last September.
Here’s what he acquired in those trades:
A top NFL left tackle in Laremy
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Tunsil
A decent No. 2 receiver in
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Kenny Stills
A good dual-threat running
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back in Johnson
Two backup linebackers, Jacob
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Martin and Barkevious Mingo
Round 2, Round 4 (two) and
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Round 6 draft picks.
Here’s what O’brien gave up in those trades:
Former No. 1 overall draft pick
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and elite pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney
An elite WR in Hopkins
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A backup CB in Johnson
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Bademosi
A below-average OT in Julien
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Davenport
Two Round 1 draft picks and a
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Round 4 pick.
That’s NFL talent mismanagement of the highest degree.
As for the Cardinals? Wow. Quarterback Kyler Murray, coming off an underappreciated rookie season as the No. 1 overall draft pick, now has veteran Larry Fitzgerald to throw to on one side, and Hopkins out to the other.
Johnson’s departure at running back is softened, even negated perhaps, by the fact that Kenyan Drake now can get more touches.
This might prove THE move of Cardinals GM Steve Keim’s career.
Actually, for O’brien too. But in a far different way.