Texans vs. Cardinals: Will DeAndre Hopkins destroy former team?

Will former Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins have his best game of the 2021 season on Sunday as he faces his former team for the first time since being traded last year?

Remember the “genius trade” by former general manager Bill O’Brien that sent the Texans running back David Johnson and a second round pick – who turned out to be defensive lineman Ross Blacklock – for Hopkins, who joined the Arizona Cardinals in the trade.

The rest they say is history, as the Cardinals enter the Week 7 game against the Houston Texans with a 6-0 record, while the Texans went 4-12 last year in their first year into the trade. This season Houston is currently 1-5 overall entering the seventh game of the season.

So to make it simple, without DeAndre Hopkins on the roster of the Houston Texans they are one of the very worst teams in the NFL. The Texans have a 5-17 record post Hopkins, and with the Cardinals, Hopkins is still one of the very best wide receivers in the entire league.

In six games this season Hopkins has 26 receptions for 367 yards and six touchdowns. DeAndre Hopkins is also averaging 14.1 yards per reception, and 21 of his receptions have went for a first down. Hopkins this season has five catches for 20-plus yards, but no catches of 40-plus yards.

Last season when the Texans traded Hopkins, his totals were 1,407 yards receiving on 115 receptions with six touchdowns. Hopkins also had a 12.2 ypc with 75 receptions for a first down, 17 receptions for 20-plus yards, and six receptions of 40-plus yards.

It is safe to say that DeAndre Hopkins is still a threat to any team he plays, especially the Houston Texans in Week 7.

DeAndre Hopkins: His time with Texans was fun, but had wrong ending

The way the Houston Texans traded DeAndre Hopkins and how everything went down within the trade, it has to be the very worst decision made in franchise history. Teams just don’t trade top tier wide receivers in their prime, but that’s what the Texans did.

It won’t be a surprise if Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray looks to Hopkins more than usual in this game played at State Farm Stadium. So to answer the original question in the headline, yes, Hopkins if given the opportunity will destroy the defense, especially the secondary, of the Texans in this game.

Do the Texans even have an answer to stop DeAndre Hopkins in their secondary? Though this is a completely different team than when Hopkins was traded, the folks who own the team are still the same, and the logo on the helmet is the same as well, so Hopkins is probably more than ready for this game to start.

No matter what is said, Hopkins has to have some revenge on his mind. He most likely doesn’t want revenge because he was traded, but for all that went down in how everything was handled behind the scenes, that’s where the revenge has to be coming to mind, right?

This could be a very successful day for Hopkins on Sunday in Week 7, meaning it will be a very long day for the Texans’ defense.