ARIReceived
Arizona Cardinals
PDeAndre Hopkins
#2020 fourth-round pick
Receiver shocker · March 20, 2020
The trade that sent DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona
Arizona acquired DeAndre Hopkins and a fourth-round pick. Houston received David Johnson, a second-round pick and a future fourth.
See where this happened in the 2020 offseason →The original receipt
Every asset in the deal
Each team panel shows the players and draft assets it received.
To ARI2020PICKround asset
To HOU20202NDround asset2021PICKround assetHOUReceived
Houston Texans
PDavid Johnson
#2020 second-round pick
#2021 fourth-round pick
Why it happened
The bet each side made
The Cardinals wanted an elite target for Kyler Murray; Houston chose a running back and draft capital rather than extend its All-Pro receiver.
Why history remembers it
The lopsided valuation was immediately criticized, and Hopkins produced an All-Pro season in his first year in Arizona.
The family tree
Where the picks and rights went
Selections, swaps and later trades are traced separately so a downstream player is not mistaken for a direct one-for-one return.
- 01
2020 second-round pick · No. 40 → Houston · selected
Ross Blacklock
Houston used Arizona's second-round selection on the TCU defensive tackle.
Texans draft Blacklock ↗ - 02
2020 fourth-round pick · No. 131 → Arizona · selected
Rashard Lawrence
Arizona used the fourth-round selection received from Houston on Lawrence. This was separate from its own No. 114 pick used on Leki Fotu.
2020 trade ledger ↗ - 03
2021 fourth-round pick · No. 122 → Houston · traded
Marcus Cannon package → Tyler Shelvin
Houston packaged No. 122 with a sixth-rounder for Cannon and picks No. 158 and No. 195. New England then sent No. 122 to Cincinnati, which selected Shelvin. Houston used No. 195 on Roy Lopez and combined No. 158 with other picks to move up for Nico Collins; those players were not direct returns for Hopkins alone.
2021 pick-by-pick trade history ↗
What changed
The consequences
- Hopkins caught the Hail Murray and earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2020.
- Houston entered a broader organizational reset soon afterward.
- Houston's future fourth became part of the Marcus Cannon deal, extending the return into further draft transactions.
Principal profiles