Should the Patriots try and trade for this star receiver?
From how the Patriots have played so far in 2022, it is evident that there needs to be changes to the roster. New England has looked extremely inconsistent, especially on offense. The NFL has become a league with lots of explosive talent on the offensive side. New England has had a top ten defense in 2022, however the offense has been sloppy. New England will still need to address offensive coordinator, but there is one potential move alone that can fix their offense significantly. Here is one player the Patriots can try to acquire to potentially become contenders again.
The Patriots Trade For Deandre Hopkins
Deandre Hopkins is an established elite receiver, and that is what New England exactly needs. The Patriots have to do a better job surrounding Mac Jones with better pieces, and if they are able to acquire Hopkins it would be a great boost. Hopkins has six seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards, and for his career he has 11,298 yards. Hopkins has been a consistent elite receiver, even though he’s had mediocre quarterback play for a good chunk of his career.
Belichick and Hopkins have mutual respect towards each other which was seen during the Patriots’ game against the Cardinals. It was also reported that New England was interested in Hopkins previously, but Hopkins ended up getting traded to the Cardinals.
For a quarterback to develop well, they must have a very dependable elite receiver. Just recently, Jalen Hurts broke out when the Eagles acquired A.J. Brown, Josh Allen broke out when the Bills got Stefon Diggs, Kyler Murray broke out with Deandre Hopkins, and Tua broke out when they acquired Tyreek Hill. Mac Jones hasn’t had an elite receiver so far with New England, yet he was still able to have a very productive rookie season in 2021 throwing for 3,801 yards. If New England is able to address their offensive coordinator position, then they acquire Deandre Hopkins, there is certainly potential that Mac develops into a very good quarterback. It is necessary the Patriots acquire a superstar wide receiver so that New England can truly evaluate how good Mac Jones is.
While Mac Jones has had some good pieces around him like Jakobi Meyers and Kendrick Bourne, the AFC has became extremely dynamic with receiver talent. New England needs a star, and Hopkins would certainly add fire-power to a team that lacks it. Acquiring Deandre Hopkins will also help pieces like Jakobi Meyers and Kendrick Bourne a lot. Deandre Hopkins requires most of the attention from defenses, allowing Kendrick Bourne and Jakobi Meyers to face less defensive attention. The Patriots’ receiving core has trouble creating separation, and Hopkins would certainly fix that issue. Deandre Hopkins is as dependable as a receiver can get, and he would help Mac develop very well.
The Cardinals have a lot of problems currently. They may depart with their coach Kliff Kingsbury, and Kyler Murray tore his ACL and likely will miss a good portion of the start of the season next year. With the drama continuing with the Cardinals, they may look to trade Deandre Hopkins for some cap flexibility. Deandre Hopkins signed a 2 year $54,500,000 deal with the Cardinals. While this is a very large contract, for the production Deandre Hopkins gives, it is a reasonable deal. Luckily for New England, they are projected to have the third most cap space in the 2023 off-season. So, if the Patriots wanted to make a large splash move and try and trade for the superstar receiver, they would have the cap space to do so.
A potential deal would include at least include a pick or two. New England could give a first round pick, a fourth round pick, and another player like Devante Parker. During the off-season stars like Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams were traded for for a first round pick. So, the Patriots will definitely have to give a first round pick, and they should certainly do so.
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