Jaguars and Other AFC South Teams Are Free Agency Winners as a Result of DeAndre Hopkins Trade

A baffling trade from the Texans has turned the rest of the AFC South into winners from day one of the tampering period.

Calais Campbell being traded from the Jacksonville Jaguars for only a fifth-round selection could be classified as shocking. But the Houston Texans reportedly trading DeAndre Hopkins and a fourth-round selection to the Arizona Cardinals for David Johnson, a second-round selection, and a fourth-round selection?

That isn't shocking. It is unimaginable.

Trade terms, per source ...

Arizona gets: WR DeAndre Hopkins, 2020 fourth-round pick.

Houston gets: RB David Johnson, 2020 second-round pick, 2021 fourth-round pick.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 16, 2020

And with the Texans shipping Hopkins out of the AFC South, the Jaguars, Titans, and Colts are all big winners from free agency's tampering period as a result. Even with the Jaguars and Colts so far making zero moves aside from bringing back Yannick Ngakoue and Anthony Castonzo, they can be considered winners simply due to the fact that they no longer have to face Hopkins twice a year. 

Why the Texans decided to trade Hopkins, one of the NFL's top wide receivers, for two non-first round selections and an expensive and often injured running back is unclear, but that doesn't matter much for the Jaguars. What matters instead is that the path to the top of the AFC South has become that much easier. '

The Texans already boast the division's best quarterback in Deshaun Watson, which has resulted in Houston winning the division two years in a row. Hopkins and Watson formed an elite connection, and one the Jaguars and the rest of the AFC South could rarely defend. 

Now that connection is no more. Because of that, head coach Doug Marrone and defensive coordinator Todd Wash can sleep a little easier on the eve of games vs. Houston.

In 14 career games vs. the Jaguars, Hopkins had been a dominant threat that only Jalen Ramsey could slow down. With the Jaguars dealing Ramsey to the Los Angeles Rams for two first-round picks and a mid-round pick in October, they had lost their Hopkins kryptonite. 

A.J. Bouye was a commendable matchup against Hopkins, though not to the level of Ramsey. But even he is gone, with the Jaguars trading him to Denver for a fourth-round 2020 draft pick. Without those two talented cornerbacks, the Jaguars were set to be poorly equipped to defend Hopkins in 2020 unless they made a big addition to the secondary.

Now, that isn't a worry. Instead, Ramsey will once again face Hopkins twice a year, while the Jaguars, Titans, and Colts won't have to have Hopkins on their mind outside of the rare occasions they would play Arizona. 

In 14 career games vs. the Jaguars, Hopkins has caught 79 receptions for 930 yards and six touchdowns, good for 11.77 yards per reception. Ramsey helped slow him down, but he was still able to put up solid numbers in most battles.

But after Monday's blockbuster deal during the early hours of the tampering period, this is all thrown out of the window. The Jaguars, Titans, and Colts all won, simply by doing nothing at all. The wide receiver with glue for hands who could shake off any cornerback moved far, far away from the AFC South, and every team in the division outside of Houston will now benefit from it.

Will this move alone make it any easier for the Jaguars to win the AFC South? Yes and no. The move doesn't improve the Jaguars' own flawed roster, but it does make the division's top dog considerably weaker in the short- and long-term. 

Jacksonville has a lot of work to do to challenge Houston for the AFC South crown, but one of their biggest obstacles in doing so will now be catching passes in the desert instead of from Watson. And because of that, the Jaguars, and the rest of the AFC South outside of Houston, are winners.