DeAndre Hopkins Trade: Would Bills Give 'Christian McCaffrey'-Size Picks Package?
The reports regarding what the Arizona Cardinals want in a trade for DeAndre Hopkins are now so all-over-the-map that Buffalo Bills observers would be wise to bring some skepticism to the D-Hop Watch.
Initially the idea was "a second-round pick.'' Then it became - and we reported with sourcing from two interested teams - "a second-round pick plus.'' Then SI's Albert Breer suggested it'd be a price will be nearer what it cost the Dallas to get Brandin Cooks. That deal was done for a fifth-round pick and a sixth-round round pick ... which seems a ridiculously low price for D-Hop.
Indeed, so low that if it's true, the Bills and the Cowboys and every other bidder ought to go ahead and pull the trigger.
And now? On SportsCenter, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler is telling us the price got jacked back up - higher than it was before. ... and that the Cardinals have been seeking a "Christian McCaffrey package.''
With a hat-tip to B/R, here's Fowler's presentation ...
"(Teams) have at least looked around at the luxury shopping, high-end wide receiver market, whether it's Hopkins or like Denver's Courtland Sutton. ... Talking to other teams, they say that Arizona has wanted a second-round pick and more, maybe even as high as like a Christian McCaffrey package. We're talking second-, third-, fourth-round picks. ... You have teams like the Bills and the Chiefs and big-ticket teams that are at least looking, window shopping at potential options at receiver."
There are four big bites in that report. And they leave a sour taste.
1 - The San Francisco 49ers acquired McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers before the trade deadline last season for a package featuring second-, third- and fourth-round draft picks in 2023 and a fourth-round pick in 2024.
One would think that if the Cardinals wanted that package, that package is where they would've started the bidding. Therefore we are skeptical.
2 - Additionally, as Fowler suggests the "maybe even as high as like a Christian McCaffrey package'' idea - made wobbly due to the word "maybe'' - he backs down and reiterates the "Arizona has wanted a second-round pick and more'' angle. ...
Which, as we noted above, is both true news - and old news.
3 - Speaking of "old news'': ESPN is saying the Bills are a "big-ticket team'' (we don't even know what that means) and that they are "window shopping at potential options at receiver.''
Yup. We know that, too.
4 - ESPN says "the luxury shopping, high-end wide receiver market'' features the likes of "Hopkins ... (and) Denver's Courtland Sutton.'' We can promise you that there is no potential bidder who views Sutton (who essentially catches 60 balls and three TDs per year) as being on the same plane with Hopkins (a five-time Pro Bowler with annual numbers that double Sutton's).
It really seems like at the moment, maybe with NFL free agency having slowed down a bit, that there are stuff being thrown against the wall to see if it sticks. Do we want to speculate about name players moving? Fine. But ESPN's Adam Schefter just got done reporting that Cowboys Ezekiel Elliott has "narrowed his options'' down to signing with either the Jets, Eagles or Bengals - and his story is completely bogus.
So, Bills Mafia, if you're a bit cynical about all the big names and the big "scoops'' and the conflicting "inside information''? Join the club.
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