DeAndre Hopkins and Dalvin Cook are the biggest names on the NFL free agent market. What if they decided to team up?
DeAndre Hopkins and Dalvin Cook have nine Pro Bowl appearances between them. Both profile as the best free agent available at their respective positions, and both are expected to command a decent chunk of change on their next contract.
Hopkins' market has been vast and loud, but he's clearly in no rush to sign. The same can be said for Cook, who should have his pick of contenders looking for another formidable weapon in their backfield. Both appear content to wait and see how the market shapes up. Their free agency could even linger into the regular season.
A tantalizing possibility would be Hopkins and Cooks coordinating their next home together. We have seen this many examples of this in the NBA superteam era. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving hand-selected Brooklyn. The Heatles with LeBron, D-Wade, and Chris Bosh. Why not carry the tradition over to the NFL?
Hopkins and Cooks aren't quite as high-profile at this stage in their careers, but it's hard to imagine adding both to a team's offense wouldn't deliver overwhelmingly positive results.
What teams make the most sense for the Hopkins/Cook duo?
No. 3 landing spot for DeAndre Hopkins-Dalvin Cook duo: Buffalo Bills
Buffalo has constructed one of the top offenses in football. Josh Allen is a consensus top-3 quarterback with the arm to punish defenses downfield and the legs to carve out short-yardage gains when the pocket collapses.
There should be inherent appeal for Hopkins to play with a QB of Allen's caliber. Any concerns about Allen's accuracy and decision-making were tossed out the window long ago; he's bold with the talent to back up said boldness.
Hopkins would be joining a talented receiving corps highlighted by Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, and Dawson Knox. Davis averaged an impressive 17.4 yards per reception last season, but Hopkins would immediately assume WR2 duties opposite Diggs. Hopkins doesn't quite have the same explosive first step that once defined him, but he's still a big-play threat with supple hands. Allen would be thrilled with his options.
In the backfield, Dalvin Cook would join James Cook and Damien Harris in what could develop into a potent run-by-committee situation ripe for "too many Cooks in the kitchen!" jokes. While the Bills certainly believe in James Cook's long-term future as RB1, there's undeniable appeal in a proven workhorse of Dalvin Cook's caliber — fresh off his fourth straight Pro Bowl. The Bills would have the kind of talent overload to make even Kansas City nervous.
No. 2 landing spot for DeAndre Hopkins-Dalvin Cook duo: New York Jets
The New York Jets made the splashiest trade of the offseason, acquiring Aaron Rodgers from the Packers to finally cement themselves as aspirant contenders in the AFC. Whether everything goes to plan for New York is yet to be seen (does it ever?), but there's no questioning the organization's intent to win with Rodgers under center.
The Jets have subsequently acquired multiple former Packers to fill out the offense around Rodgers. Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb will both be flanking Rodgers in the receiving corps next season. Meanwhile, other former teammates are still lurking in the rumor mill as potential targets for the Jets.
That said, the Jets' receiving corps is far from elite. There's a lot of hope tied to Garrett Wilson after he flashed immense upside with a 1,103-yard rookie season. Still, he's not the most proven WR1, especially when one considers Rodgers' tendency to change plays at the line of scrimmage and complicate the offense. With DeAndre Hopkins, the Jets would have another reliable downfield option for Rodgers as well as a potential mentor for Wilson.
The path for Dalvin Cook in New York is slightly murkier given the presence of Breece Hall, who looked well on his way to permanent RB1 status last season before a torn ACL sidelined him prematurely. The 22-year-old is already one of the most explosive runners in football and he's nifty in the pass-catching arena too. Cooks would have to settle for a timeshare at best, but that could benefit all parties. Cook gets to decrease his workload as he ages, Hall gets to take plays off returning from a knee injury, and the Jets have two dynamic runners to keep defenses guessing.
No. 1 landing spot for DeAndre Hopkins-Dalvin Cook duo: Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are on the rise. While the AFC can feel like a three-horse race between Kansas City, Buffalo, and Cincinnati, it wouldn't be wise to count Miami out of the race entirely. A lot is riding on the health and development of Tua Tagovailoa under center.
When he's right, Tua is one of the sport's most aesthetically pleasing passers. He frequently slings his trademark high-arcing lefty dimes downfield for the Dolphins' zippy receiving corps, which is spearheaded by two of the fastest humans alive: Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
Hopkins would present a slight change of pace. He doesn't have the same burst and acceleration, at least not at this stage of his career, but he's a bigger receiver who can thrive on short routes while still giving Tua another long-range target every now and again. The Dolphins would immediately have the most fearsome wide receiver trio in the NFL.
It's Cook, however, who would be the real crown jewel of Miami's offseason. The Dolphins' current RB group is fine, but it's not the kind of dream rotation that gets fans out of bed in the morning. Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. are both established, reliable vets with complementary skill sets. That's enough to get the job done in today's NFL. Even so, Cook is still one of the top workhorse backs in the league — at least, that's how the Vikings treated him.
The Dolphins should be eager to invite a vicious, forceful downhill runner of Cook's caliber into the offense. He would add new wrinkles to Miami's early-down, short-yardage playbook, in turn setting up Hill, Waddle, and Hopkins for more big plays down the field.
