The Houston Texans have traded DeAndre Hopkins in a move that benefits the Las Vegas Raiders.
Although this trade may not appear to have anything to do with the Las Vegas Raiders, it does have a huge effect on the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft. With the Arizona Cardinals set to pick before the Raiders, the odds of them taking a top receiver off the board was high.
The Cardinals have a few decent receivers, but with this move, they clearly felt that they badly needed a new WR1, and with the Hopkins trade, they got that and more. The Raiders top need heading into this draft is a top receiver, and although this is a deep draft class, there is a good chance the Raiders will look to draft a player such as CeeDee Lamb or Jerry Jeudy with the 12th pick in the draft.
One of the only teams standing in the way of the Raiders taking one of these players was the Arizona Cardinals, who hold the 8th pick in the draft. With this pick, the Cardinals will surely use this pick on a different position, most likely looking to boost their offensive line in hopes to protect their young QB.
With this move, the Raiders will likely have the choice of drafting any receiver they want with the 12th pick of the draft, whether it be CeeDee Lamb or Jerry Jeudy. This also gives the Raiders the option to trade back a couple of spots if a team like the Buccanneers would like to jump ahead of the Indianapolis Colts in hopes of taking a QB because now if the Colts end up taking a Lamb or Jeudy, the Raiders would be able to take the other as well as adding another draft pick.
I’m addition, with the NFL moving to a 14-team playoff format, this move hurts the Texans chances of returning to the playoffs next season, which also helps the Silver and Black. The new year of the NFL has just begun, but it is already off to a crazy start.