Deandre Hopkins (along with a 2020 fourth-round pick), in exchange for RB David Johnson, a 2020 second-round pick and a 2021 fourth-round pick.

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When this blockbuster trade was first announced back in March, amidst new restrictions and lockdowns, some of it’s headline potential was lost to bigger news.  It was a shocking trade, but many around the league trusted Bill O’Brien’s vision.  After all, he had to be seeing something that we were all missing to trade a generational talent at receiver for an injury-prone back and a move up in the draft.  Perhaps Hopkins was on the decline, and he believed Will Fuller was ready to step into the WR1 role?  Or perhaps Johnson was finally ready to reclaim his place at the top of the league?  Nope, O’Brien was just plain wrong. 

 In Arizona, Hopkins continued his dominance, passing 1,400 receiving yards and providing a true WR1 target for a budding Kyler Murray.   Johnson, on the other hand, posted yet another disappointing season, continuing his decline in the wake of past injuries.  This move was the final nail in the coffin for Bill O’Brien, who was fired after the Texans limped to a 4-12 record. Unfortunately, this trade goes deeper than just damaging the Texan’s record this season.  It will have a longstanding impact on their future as a franchise – with Hopkins gone, and Will Fuller likely to enter free agency, the Texans have all but abandoned supporting DeShaun Watson.  This, coupled with an aging defense and one of the worst cap situations in the league, means that times will likely get far, far worse in Houston before they get better.  And yes, Bill O’Brien is entirely to blame for that.  

Stefon Diggs (along with a 2020 seventh-round pick), in exchange for a 2020 first-round pick, a 2020 fifth-round pick, a 2020 sixth-round pick and a 2021 fourth-round pick.

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I have to admit that when news of this trade first broke, I was a little split.  Yes, it was clear that the bills were filling a positional need, and giving Josh Allen the weapon he desperately needed to go to the next level.  But Stefon Diggs?  Through his time at Minnesota, despite flashes of greatness, he struggled with his role in the locker room and repeatedly clashed with coaching staff over his role in the offense.  Was he really worth that much in draft picks?  Diggs responded to the criticism he received from fans and the media with a 127 reception, 1500 yard season that elevated the Bills from wild-card contender to legitimate Super Bowl threat.  This move by the Bills proved the need for teams to provide their budding young QBs with a superstar WR1 (Looking at you, Texans), as Josh Allen tore through opponents to the tune of 37 TDs and 4500 yards in the air.  

The vikings received a lot of value in draft capital, and seem to have made all the right decisions for the future.  Cornerbacks Cameron Danzler and Jeff Gladney should offer help to their lackluster secondary, and picks like Ezra Cleveland, D.J. Wonnum, and James Lynch should help them in the trenches.  Their breakout rookie, Justin Jefferson, has proven that he could be the best receiver in the league in just a few years if they can keep him injury free and find him a reliable passer.   It’s been a disappointing season for them, and it is unlikely that they will be contenders in the near future unless the front office can pull off some much needed salary cap magic, but these young players offer a bright future for Vikings fans.  Both Minnesota and Buffalo have benefitted from this trade, and it’s hard to pick a clear “winner” other than fans of both teams.  

Buccaneers sign Tom Brady to a 2 year, $50 Million contract, and trade 4th round pick to Patriots for Rob Gronkowski

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The Buccaneers were in a strange place after finishing the 2019 season 7-9.  With a strong receiving corps and the league’s best run defense, it felt like they were not good enough to be a contender but far too strong to begin any kind of rebuild.   They needed to make a move that would make them contenders, and they found that in the acquisition of former Patriot and future hall of famer Tom Brady.  In addition, they traded a 4th round pick for Brady’s longtime favorite target, Rob Gronkowski.  While these additions immediately placed them in the superbowl conversation, many questioned whether or not an aging Brady and Gronkowski still had it in them to compete at the highest level.  

This season Brady has shown flashes of his former greatness, while at the same time struggling to overcome his aging body and adapt to a brand new offensive system in a rushed COVID season.   At their best, they look like the strongest team in the NFL and the favorites to win the NFC championship – but at their worst, they look at best to be a wild card team.   One undisputed victory for the Buccaneers was their acquisition of Rob Gronkowski.   Despite his slow start to the season, he has proven himself to be a valuable pickup and worthy of a 4th round pick.   Whether or not dishing out $50 million to Tom Brady was the right decision will be decided in the next two years.  The Buccaneers are in win now mode, and if they can figure out their inconsistencies and win a title, the money will have been well worth it.  If not, they will enter 2022 and beyond once again a team without direction, clinging desperately to an aging QB and having wasted the primes of their star-studded receivers’ careers.

In this blog series I take an unbiased, scientific approach to the age-old question:  what is the best burrito in Naperville? Everybody knows the rules – each week, I pick one local restaurant and evaluate it’s classic steak burrito.  No national chains, no add-ons or substitutions.  

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After my last blog on Los Burritos Tapatios, which welcomed some heated and (mostly) civil debate in the comments, there was really only one choice for this week’s review.  It is a restaurant that has long lived in the shadow of it’s crosstown rival, sandwiched between Ogden locations like an afterthought.  But is it really the fault of its food?  Or is Los Burritos Tapatios simply more popular because of its status as a local chain?  Does the little guy stand a chance? I have to admit, I am hopeful for this review – after all, it’s fun to root for the underdog.

COVID has once again closed indoor dining, and so I was forced to navigate my way through El Hogar’s “drive thru” to order my burrito.  I’m not sure if it’s due to property restrictions, or if the owner’s really like making drivers work to get their food, but this has to be one of the strangest drive thru layouts I’ve ever seen – it is essentially an extension of the parking lot, and appears to only be able to accommodate 3 cars at a time.   That being said, this isn’t an architecture blog and I’m a professional, so I’ll base my review solely on the quality of the burrito.  

First impressions are… underwhelming.  Weighing in at almost exactly a pound, with a price of 8.79$, this is not the budget burrito I was perhaps wrongly anticipating.  On our Burrito Budget Index (BBI),  that comes out to just 1.82oz/$.  With a BBI that places this burrito squarely in a premium price bracket, El Hogar will have to deliver on quality.  

I was excited to find the outside of the burrito grilled, which added nice texture and some additional flavor.  It also helped seal in the fillings, which was important for reasons I’ll get to later.   First, the cross-section.  Although this burrito is considerably smaller in size than El Burrito Tapatio, it ended up weighing only a few ounces less.   I was concerned that much of this weight would come from bean, sour cream, and other fillers, but the cross section revealed an impressive amount of steak.  

Unfortunately for El Hogar, that steak was practically floating in grease.  I’m glad that the burrito was sealed on the grill, or I’m afraid I wouldn’t have gotten home without grease bursting out of the tin foil wrapping and into my passenger seat.  There’s certainly flavor there, but it’s not as a result of fresh steak, a quality marinade, or technique on the grill.  It’s just grease.  I have to admit, it tastes good, but in a hedonistic sort of way – each bite of the burrito only adds to the looming punishment my stomach is set to receive.  

The rest of the burrito was pretty good.  Refried beans in a burrito isn’t my first choice, but they were added sparingly.  What most impressed me most was the quality of the lettuce and tomato, which added much-needed freshness to a burrito as greasy and heavy as this.  I also loved the salsas provided, which were house-made.  They turned up the heat without sacrificing flavor.

Ultimately, I think El Hogar is deserving of its reputation as Naperville’s second favorite burrito.  While it was by no means a bad burrito, the sheer amount of grease that they managed to fit in this thing, coupled with it’s poor score on the BBI, overshadowed any positive qualities.  I will return to El Hogar’s confusing drive-thru, but only after Los Burritos Tapatios has closed its doors.