DeAndre Hopkins', Budda Baker's Best Landing Spots After 2023 NFL Draft Day 1

The Arizona Cardinals are under new leadership with general manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon.

Those two are tasked with a big project, as they inherited a 4-13 team in rebuilding mode.

Next season doesn't look particularly bright with franchise quarterback Kyler Murray set to miss at least some time as he rehabs a torn ACL.

Two of the team's top talents also appear headed out of town: Five-time Pro Bowlers Budda Baker requested a trade, and DeAndre Hopkins has been the subject of trade rumors.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Baker asked in February to become the league's highest-paid safety or get traded. It appears Arizona has chosen the latter option.

The Cardinals traded for Hopkins when they were hoping to be contenders, but the team crashed and burned last year, and now the No. 1 wideout is a luxury it can't afford.

It's possible the Cardinals will embrace a full rebuild and deal these two stars as they look to restock their roster. There are plenty of contending teams that can use their talents, and here's a look at a few of them.

---

Hopkins Trade Targets: Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs

Adam "Pacman" Jones said Wednesday on the Pat McAfee Show that the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs could be in the mix for Hopkins.

Both would make plenty of sense. The Chiefs could probably throw anyone at wide receiver because Patrick Mahomes is an all-world quarterback who can raise any player's game. But a Mahomes-Hopkins pairing would make it game over for the rest of the league.

Kansas City could also use a bigger wideout to complement its small, shifty players in Skyy Moore, Richie James and Kadarius Toney. It already has the 6'4" Marquez Valdes-Scantling, but the 6'1" Hopkins, a three-time first-team All-Pro, could return to his old perch as one of the elite wideouts in the game.

The rich would get richer with Buffalo as well. The Bills have a superstar at the position in Stefon Diggs, and Hopkins would give them a dynamic duo at the position. Gabe Davis, who scored four touchdowns versus the Chiefs in the playoffs two seasons ago, would become one of the (if not the) best No. 3 wideouts in football.

That group would work alongside Round 1 tight end Dalton Kincaid, whom the Bills selected Thursday, and veteran Dawson Knox. The best teams in the AFC all have dynamic offenses, and Hopkins would help Buffalo stay competitive as it seeks its first Super Bowl berth since the 1993 season.

---

Baker Trade Targets: Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals

The table is nearly set for the Jacksonville Jaguars to open a Super Bowl window. They were phenomenal last year in Doug Pederson's first season as head coach, improving from three victories to nine, winning the AFC South and losing by just one touchdown to the Chiefs in the AFC divisional playoffs.

The offense has the pieces in place with quarterback Trevor Lawrence, running back Travis Etienne Jr., wideouts Calvin Ridley and Christian Kirk and more. The defense has great talents as well, led by game-breaking pass-rusher Josh Allen.

But Baker, a two-time first-team All-Pro, is the type of player who can vault the Jags from knocking on the AFC championship door to busting through it. The conference is loaded with tremendous quarterbacks, so it's incumbent on teams to load up their pass rushes and secondaries to combat that.

Baker could slide into a team that's in a great salary-cap spot with Lawrence on his rookie deal. The time to strike and go for it is now. Baker wants a lot of money, but the Jags should make it work for a potentially franchise-altering talent.

In that same vein, the Cincinnati Bengals need to reload in the secondary, especially after losing safety Jessie Bates III to the Atlanta Falcons in free agency. The Bengals nearly won it all two years ago and were incredibly close to getting back to the Super Bowl last year.

Baker could put them over the hump. The offense is in the top five in the league with Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins leading the way. But the Bengals could use another playmaker on the defensive end—even after they drafted edge-rusher Myles Murphy on Thursday—especially in an AFC North wherein they'll have to face a potentially explosive Baltimore Ravens offense twice a year after Lamar Jackson signed an extension Thursday and the team picked wide receiver Zay Flowers in the first round.

Baker is a proven leader who's been one of the best safeties in the league since he was a second-round pick out of Washington in 2017. He would fit seamlessly with Cincinnati and could help lead the team to its first-ever Lombardi Trophy.