The start of 2020 Free Agency featured a lot of wild trades, one was insanely bad for one team, and another was good for one team. I will take a look at 3 trades from this past week and who won these deals.
There have been many more trades this offseason. One more that comes to mind that barely missed the list is the Indianapolis Colts acquiring DL DeForest Buckner from the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a 1st-round pick.
#3: Darius Slay to the Philadelphia Eagles
Full trade: Eagles receive Darius Slay in exchange for 3rd and 5th-round picks in 2020.
While Detroit gets rid of a disgruntled player, Philly receives a top tier corner and fill a huge hole in their secondary. If Darius Slay wasn’t so public about this situation, this trade would have looked much better for the Lions, and they possibly could’ve received a higher pick for Slay. The Eagles get Slay for a bargain while giving him a new 3 year/$50M extension. Slay allowed 704 yards and 2 TDs while totaling 2 INTs last season. Winner: Eagles.
#2: Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills
Full trade: Buffalo receives: Stefon Diggs & a 7th round pick. Minnesota Vikings receive: 1st round pick, 5th round pick, 6th round pick, and a 2021 4th round pick.
Buffalo finally found their WR1 to go along with 2019 standout John Brown and former Dallas Cowboys WR Cole Beasley. Diggs totaled 1,130 yards and 6 TDs last season. The Bills have done a great job over the last 2 years helping Allen grow as a QB. If they can follow this up with a good draft, they could be serious contenders for the AFC East.
Meanwhile, the Vikings received a haul of draft picks for a disgruntled receiver that will hopefully propel them into the future. Minnesota now has picks 22 and 25 in this upcoming draft with edge and WR a need for the team. Vikings fans should hope they use this insane amount of picks to get Cousins another weapon or two. Winner: Bills.
#1: DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals
Full trade: Texans send WR DeAndre Hopkins & a 2020 4th round pick to the Arizona Cardinals for RB David Johnson, a 2020 2nd round pick, and a 2021 4th round pick.
Houston needed some draft capital after the blockbuster trade last year that sent Laremy Tunsil to Houston, but this just wasn’t enough for Hopkins at all. I mean what was Bill O’Brien thinking? He could’ve received a package that included a 1st round pick plus a lot more for Hopkins if he really tried.
For Arizona, they get one of the best receivers in the game for Kyler Murray, while dumping some of David Johnson’s contract to Houston. Arizona has built this offense tremendously for Kyler, They now have Kenyan Drake, DeAndre Hopkins, Larry Fitzgerald, Hakeem Butler, Christian Kirk, and Andy Isabella. For the Texans, this trade makes absolutely no sense & O’Brien should be stripped of his GM duties. Winner? Cardinals.