J.J. Watt enjoyed the taste of postseason victory last season thanks to the heroics of Deshaun Watson, but his offensive teammates will have to attempt to do so again without DeAndre Hopkins.
The trade that sent the star receiver west and brought the Texans draft picks and running back David Johnson stunned the football world, and even grabbed Watt's attention.
"Anytime you have a guy like Hop, who in my opinion, has the best hands in the game and is obviously one of the top receivers of the game, it certainly catches your eye, that's for sure," Watt said of the trade, via SI.com. "It's always tough to lose a guy like that, no matter what the situation is.
"It's above my pay grade and it's something that obviously the team and the organization feels is in the best interest of the team. So as a player on the team, I do my job and I go to work and I play the games, and the GM and the owners, they do their job and they try and do what they feel is best for the team. And so, all I can do is show up and go to work and hope that all the guys that we have are great contributors to our team."
Hope can be powerful, but it's not as reliable as, well, production. Hopkins is a four-time All-Pro (first team three times) and four-time Pro Bowler and led the NFL in receiving touchdowns in 2017. He cultivated quite a rapport with Watson, creating an excellent tandem that forced defenses to adjust for their big-play potential.
Now, that's gone. The onus might shift further to Watt's group, as it did before the Texans could find a legitimate starter at quarterback.
No use in upsetting management, though. Watt's here to play hard and earn his pay. He's just hoping his offensive teammates can hold up their end of the bargain.
