Watt: 'Always tough to lose' elite players like Hopkins

J.J. Watt knows the Houston Texans lost one of the NFL's premier talents by trading DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals.

"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 recently told Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated. "It's always tough to lose a guy like that, no matter what the situation is."

The Texans were widely criticized for trading Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals without getting a first-round pick in exchange. Houston received a second-round pick and running back David Johnson for Hopkins and a 2021 fourth-rounder.

Head coach and general manager Bill O'Brien aggressively remade his wide receiver corps after shipping out Hopkins, signing Randall Cobb in free agency before trading a second-round pick to the Los Angeles Rams for Brandin Cooks.

However, some have questioned whether Houston upgraded at the position. Hopkins established himself as one of the most dominant receivers in eight seasons with the Texans, racking up 632 catches for 8,602 yards and 54 touchdowns.

While Watt is sorry to see Hopkins leave, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year is focused on what he can control.

"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," said Watt. "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."