Next Teams for Hopkins and Cook? – Betting Odds

Michael Crosson Sports Betting Expert

4 minute read

With the NFL preseason just a little over month away, many teams are still in desperate need of weaponry on the offensive side of the script, but fortunately for those squads, there’s a pair of four-time Pro Bowlers on the free agency market in DeAndre Hopkins and Dalvin Cook – but where will they land?

Let’s see what the oddsmakers over at DraftKings think:

Next Team Betting Odds - DeAndre Hopkins

The Patriots are currently favored to land Hopkins at +100 following a meeting with him last week, and then subsequently, reports beginning to swirl that there’s significant mutual interest between Hopkins and Bill Belichick – and that New England remains “hopeful” regarding the situation.

Given the information at hand, though, +100 is awfully steep. That price tag implies roughly a 50% chance of New England landing Hopkins, and quite frankly, Hopkins’ camp has been far too quiet on the matter to warrant such confidence in his destination.

And if Hopkins truly wants to give himself the best chance to win a championship, does he really want to hitch his wagon to Mac Jones? We’ll see.

Speaking of title chances, that brings us to the second team on the list, the Buffalo Bills at +350.

If Hopkins wants to guarantee that he plays for a championship-caliber team and compete on the biggest stage immediately, Buffalo makes a ton of sense.

However, the problem is, the Bills have far less spending money than some of the other teams in the running, and the rumor mill claims that Hopkins is in search of a lucrative long-term deal. So, Buffalo seems unlikely, unless Hopkins decides to take a considerable pay cut to join a title contender. Not great value.

But what about Tennessee? The Titans are listed with the third-best odds on the board at +400, and this move actually makes the most sense in my opinion.

The championship window is closing quickly for the current iteration of this Titans’ team. Tennessee barreled out to a solid 7-3 start to last season before losing seven straight to close the year – which comes on the heels of back-to-back 11+ win seasons, yet no playoff wins during that time.

The crux of this Titans’ team has always been their inability to move the ball through the air. He may not quite be the player that he used to be, but Hopkins signing with Tennessee at age 31 could still be extremely beneficial for both parties.

Next Team Betting Odds - Dalvin Cook

So, let’s move over to the Dalvin Cook Next Team Odds, where the Miami Dolphins stand as the clear cut favorite to sign the former Vikings’ runningback.

The Dolphins skyrocketed to the top of the odds list at +125 after Cook said in a recent interview that “Miami would be a perfect fit, and the roster speaks for itself.” – But how much weight does that statement actually hold?

Prior to his latest quote, Cook consistently stated that his biggest priority was signing with a team that “wants to give him the ball,” as well as a team that he could “help get over the hump.”

Throughout this free agency process, it appears that he's become incredibly tempted to strike a deal with his hometown team, as Cook attended Miami Central High School and played college ball at Florida State - but if there’s any truth to the statements that he’s made throughout the offseason, Miami probably isn’t the best fit.

Certainly, Cook would be the lead back for the Dolphins if he signed with them, but he’d be the lead back of a backfield that already contains a pair of solid options in Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. – plus, it’s a team that heavily relies on the passing attack, or in other words, feeding Cook touches would be a preference, not a priority for Miami.

The distant second option on the list is the Denver Broncos at +600, and their situation actually aligns with Cook’s long-standing desires quite well, as very few potential contenders seem hard pressed to make a splashy runningback acquisition at the moment – but if Denver technically qualifies as a “potential contender,” why not sign with the Broncos?

Russell Wilson was always at his best with the Seahawks whenever they managed to establish themselves as a dominant run-first offense – and the Broncos were never able to do that under head coach Nathaniel Hackett last year.

With Sean Payton now entering as the adult in the room, the Broncos will likely want to utilize a far more run-heavy scheme moving forward, however, they can only put so much pressure on their rushing attack with Javonte Williams and Simaje Perine serving as their runningback duo.

The key to unlocking the Broncos' offense lies within their ability to run the ball effectively. So, if Cook truly wants to sign with a team that he could potentially help “get over the hump,” nobody needs a game-changer in the backfield more than Denver.

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Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson began his time at VegasInsider as a freelance NBA writer back in 2019 while he continued to study Psychology and Biology at James Madison University. Following his graduation in 2021, Michael joined the team full-time, and he's been with VI ever since. Michael still writes NBA, NFL, and MLB for VI, as well as gambling industry news. He's also become a crucial part of our editorial production team. More from Michael Crosson