DeAndre Hopkins dramatically improves Arizona Cardinals' 2020 NFL futures odds
The Arizona Cardinals landed one of the NFL's best receivers in DeAndre Hopkins via trade from Houston on Monday, and the sportsbooks have adjusted accordingly.
The media reaction around the NFL on Monday has been nearly unanimous on the Cardinals-Texans trade that landed Arizona one of the best receivers in the league in DeAndre Hopkins for the seemingly very, very low price of running back David Johnson and a couple of draft picks but not a first-rounder: Utter thievery by Cards GM Steve Keim. CBS Sports used the word fleece.
Various NFL oddsmakers sure seem to support that Arizona won the trade in a landslide. The Westgate SuperBook shifted the Cardinals from +4000 to +2000 for the NFC title and +8000 to +4000 for the Super Bowl. Houston jumped from +2000 to +4000 to win the AFC and +4000 to +8000 to win the Super Bowl.
At Circa sportsbook, Arizona went from +7500 to +5000 to win the Super Bowl and Houston from +3500 to +5000. PointsBet dropped the Cardinals to +4000 to win the first title in franchise history and moved Houston up to that same price.
Each team's win total at PointsBet also shifted a half-win, with Arizona now at 7.5 and Houston 8 – the SportsLine Projection Model forecasts the Cardinals to win 7.3 games and Texans 7. Houston is now a +225 third-favorite to win a third straight AFC South title, and Arizona is a +800 long shot in the very tough NFC West.
These two teams do not play in the 2020 regular season. The last time Hopkins faced off against NFC West teams – he will have six games against that division this year -- was in 2017 and he had 30 catches for 560 yards and four touchdowns in those four games.
Kyler Murray's MVP odds at FanDuel got a bit better as the second-year quarterback is now +2600. Deshaun Watson is +1200 after losing his favorite target. Houston's receiving group right now is Will Fuller (always hurt), Kenny Stills, Keke Coutee, DeAndre Carter, Steven Mitchell, Chad Hansen and Isaac Whitney.