4. DeAndre Hopkins to the Patriots (Bill O’Brien reunion)
You know what would be wild? Seeing DeAndre Hopkins reunite with Bill O’Brien as a member of the New England Patriots. The Patriots have a desperate need for wide receiver help, so this move wouldn’t be overly shocking from that standpoint. It would also make a ton of sense considering the Cardinals’ new GM — Monti Ossenfort — is a disciple of the New England Patriots.
Ossenfort is running the Cardinals, and they look like a bit of a complete rebuild project. Aside from having Kyler Murray in place, this is a roster that’s going to need to be reset, and if Ossenfort can get a decent pick for Hopkins (2nd-3rd round pick), he might just pull the trigger.
The Patriots, as we all well know, love to buy low on players like this. If they see a guy like Hopkins as capable of helping them get into a competitive window, they’re going to take that shot. The thing about this move is, Hopkins was once traded in a very unpopular move at the time by Bill O’Brien when both were with the Houston Texans.
O’Brien was obviously later fired by Houston and wound up coaching at Alabama for two seasons, but he’s now back as the play-caller in New England. Perhaps these two can let bygones be bygones because Hopkins had the most success in his NFL career when he was playing in O’Brien’s offense with the Texans.
In fact, Hopkins was a first-team All-Pro for three years straight (2017-19) while he was with O’Brien in Houston. Those years also coincide with three of the best years in Deshaun Watson’s NFL career, but you get the gist. Hopkins and O’Brien seem to work well together even if there might be some bad blood there from the trade that was made three years ago.
Hopkins could be exactly what the Patriots need with their current situation at wide receiver, and I’m sure Bill O’Brien would relish the chance to work with him again.