In easily the biggest and probably most surprising move in free agency thus far, receiver DeAndre Hopkins and running back David Johnson are swapping teams. The Houston Texans have traded Hopkins and a fourth-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals in return for Johnson, a 2020 second-round pick, and a 2021 fourth-round pick.
The full deal. https://t.co/iYqLzVmlAV
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 16, 2020
Houston Texans Swap DeAndre Hopkins for David Johnson
This is a huge move for both squads. DeAndre Hopkins will make an already-crowded Cardinals wide receiver corps even more interesting. That corps now includes Hopkins, Larry Fitzgerald, and Christian Kirk. Meanwhile, now Will Fuller likely becomes the go-to target in Houston, while David Johnson becomes the starting running back. This also likely means the Texans aren’t bringing back Carlos Hyde. For the Cardinals, this more firmly sets up Kenyan Drake to likely be the starter at running back, who they placed the transition tag on.
Hopkins, a four-time Pro Bowler (with three in a row since 2017), had a slightly quieter 2019 season than average. He finished with 104 catches for 1,165 yards and seven touchdowns. Considering he had 1,572 yards in 2018 and 24 touchdowns from 2017 to 2018, his numbers went down a little. However, there is little doubt that he is still one of the best receivers in football and a big help to whatever quarterback is throwing to him (now Kyler Murray).
Johnson’s had a more bumpy past three years. After having 2,000+ yards from scrimmage in 2016, he missed almost the whole 2017 season due to injury. He played all of 2018 but didn’t even crack 1,000 yards rushing. In 2019, he missed a few games, but his carries still got taken away over time until Kenyan Drake was getting the bulk of them. He started nine out of 13 games, and had 345 rushing yards and two touchdowns, along with 370 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
Hopkins thus far in his career has 632 receptions for 8,602 yards and 54 touchdowns. Johnson has 3,128 rushing yards and 33 touchdowns, as well as 2,219 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns.
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