The Cardinals have surprisingly released DeAndre Hopkins, who played three seasons with the team. The move has big fantasy implications, most notably increasing the value of Marquise Brown and Rondale Moore but hurting the stock of Kyler Murray (who is returning from a torn ACL).
The big question now is: Where will Hopkins land?
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He still has plenty left in the tank entering his age-30 season, as he showed a year ago when he averaged nearly 17 points in nine games. In real football terms, teams like the Ravens, Jets or his old squad, the Texans, would be good fits. But we’re talking about the world of fantasy and we’re seeking the most available targets and of course, PPR points.
Here are five teams that have a need at wide receiver and would be interesting spots for Hopkins to land. Let’s start with the defending champs.
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Kansas City Chiefs
The Super Bowl champions lack an alpha wide receiver (not that it mattered last season), but imagine adding Hopkins to the offense? With JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman out of the mix, Kansas City could land Nuk in a “rich get richer” move. Imagine Hopkins catching passes from Patrick Mahomes in an Andy Reid offense? It’s enough to give fantasy fans statistical chills.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills already have Stefon Diggs, but I think there would be enough targets to go around for Josh Allen to support two stud receivers. This would be a huge get for Allen and a huge headache for opposing defenses who would have to cover these two stars. Such a move might push Diggs down a few spots at wideout and make Gabe Davis a dud, but it would be fun in fantasy.
New York Giants
The Giants added a bunch of “meh” wideouts in the offseason, and they still lack an alpha at the position. Hopkins could come right in and become that alpha for Daniel Jones, and he’d help keep defenses honest when covering new tight end Darren Waller. Hopkins would almost certainly lead the G-Men in targets while remaining a high-end No. 2 wideout in most 2023 fantasy drafts.
New England Patriots
The Patriots lost Jakobi Meyers and Nelson Agholor as free agents, and Smith-Schuster has never really been a true alpha receiver. Adding Hopkins would help Smith-Schuster in that respect, and he’d certainly benefit Mac Jones. If Nuk landed in New England, I’d see him as more of a mid-WR2 who could bring back some big weeks when the matchup is overly favorable.
Tennessee Titans
If we’re talking about pure targets, who could offer more than the Titans? Their No. 1 receiver in second-year player Treylon Burks, who showed flashes as a rookie but still has much to prove. Beyond that, their best pass catcher is a tight end, Chigoziem Okonkwo. This offense can support a top wideout (remember A.J. Brown), so Hopkins would have plenty of value.
