DeAndre Hopkins 'Belongs' with Bills, Says Daniel Jeremiah

It remains to be seen how things will play out, but it's hard to deny that the Buffalo Bills are a team to watch in the DeAndre Hopkins sweepstakes.

The Buffalo Bills have finally started to put the pieces together on their roster after a somewhat quiet start to the new league year.

But the team likely isn't done, and could be eyeing a splash trade or free agency signing to top it all off. And according to NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah, Arizona Cardinals receiver DeAndre Hopkins is name to watch.

"If I'm DeAndre Hopkins and you're looking at where does he fit, where does he want to go, to me I think he belongs with a contender," Jeremiah said Wednesday on NFL Network. "I look at a place like Buffalo."

The Bills have seen first-hand what the All-Pro receiver is capable of.

And with receiver being one of the key areas of improvement for the team this offseason, putting together a trade to acquire the star pass-catcher from the Cardinals could be a deal that keeps the Bills in Super Bowl contention for the foreseeable future. A receiving duo of Stefon Diggs and Hopkins would become arguably the league's best pass-game pairing, especially with Josh Allen at the helm.

Jeremiah sees a potential pairing with an elite quarterback like Allen being something that motivates Hopkins to push for a trade to Buffalo.

"I know what you have obviously with Stefon Diggs there ... When you're gonna have to compete with the Kansas City Chiefs, you cannot have enough firepower," Jeremiah said. " ... But I look at him trying to find one of these premier quarterbacks and go land with him."

During Arizona's abysmal 4-13 finish this past season, Hopkins still finished as the team's leader in receiving yards (717) despite missing eight games, six of which came in the first six weeks of the season due to a PED suspension. But despite that, reports have indicated that the Cardinals still plan on trading Hopkins at some point this offseason.

So ... back to that familiarity the Bills have with Hopkins.

In what was one of the most impressive plays in recent NFL memory, Hopkins crushed the Bills' spirits with an insane, 43-yard game-winning touchdown in a 32-30 victory over Buffalo during the 2020 season. Surrounded by elite Buffalo defensive backs in Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde and Tre'Davious White, Hopkins managed to out-leap all three to come down with the Hail Mary lob from quarterback Kyler Murray.

It's certainly a play that Bills Mafia would like to forget, but one that could also be simultaneously forgiven should Hopkins head to Orchard Park via trade.

However, the Cardinals and Hopkins would have to agree to a contract restructuring for a potential trade with the Bills to work. It remains to be seen how things will play out, but it's hard to deny that the Bills are a team to watch in the Hopkins sweepstakes.

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You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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