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What can the Chiefs expect from DeAndre Hopkins, their new receiver?

24 October 2024Last Update :
What can the Chiefs expect from DeAndre Hopkins, their new receiver?

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the wee hours Wednesday morning, the Kansas City Chiefs made a trade they knew they had to make to boost their offense.

The Chiefs acquired 12th-year wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Tennessee Titans, sending a conditional 2025 fifth-round NFL Draft pick. It will become a fourth-rounder if Hopkins plays 60 percent of the Chiefs’ offensive snaps and the team reaches Super Bowl LIX. The Titans will also pay $2.5 million of Hopkins’ salary. The Chiefs needed such help because they entered Wednesday with $4.1 million in salary-cap space, according to Over the Cap.

The Chiefs are optimistic that Hopkins will be available to play a limited role in Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders. In six games with the Titans, Hopkins recorded 15 receptions on 21 targets for 173 yards and one touchdown.

The Chiefs, seeking an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl victory, are the league’s lone undefeated team with a 6-0 record. But quarterback Patrick Mahomes needed help at receiver. Mahomes is averaging a career-low 231.5 passing yards per game. Injuries have sidelined Mahomes’ top three receivers: newcomer Marquise Brown (left shoulder), rising star Rashee Rice (right knee) and veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster (right hamstring). In Sunday’s 28-18 win over the San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City’s receivers combined for just five receptions on 12 targets for 44 yards.

What will Hopkins do for the Chiefs offense? What are his skills as a player? And what does his arrival mean for the Chiefs’ future?

After watching every route Hopkins has run this season, here’s what the Chiefs are getting in their new receiver.

Why did the Chiefs need to make a big move at receiver?

In addition to the injuries at the position, acquiring Hopkins should create more margin of error for Mahomes and the rest of the Chiefs’ passing attack. Mahomes has proved he can win championships without a superstar receiver. Mahomes did, however, need another motivated, viable and reliable receiver to help him sustain the Chiefs offense.

Hopkins can be that receiver based on his route-running ability and success in creating yards after the catch.

Without Hopkins, the Chiefs were going to enter this week’s game against the Raiders with a group of receivers — Justin Watson, Mecole Hardman, Skyy Moore and rookie Xavier Worthy — that has combined to generate 27 receptions for 343 yards and two touchdowns. Mahomes enters Sunday’s game with just six touchdowns, a league-leading eight interceptions and an 82.5 passer rating, the lowest of his career as a starter.

Trading for Hopkins should help the Chiefs offense be as potent as possible before the postseason.

What does the film show from Hopkins’ first six games?

Hopkins, 6 feet 1 and 212 pounds, is a strong receiver when running routes on the perimeter, which is exactly what the Chiefs need.

Hopkins’ first target of the season, when the Titans played the Chicago Bears, is one the Chiefs could replicate against the Raiders. Hopkins (top of the photo below) lined up on the perimeter with quarterback Will Levis in the shotgun. The Bears countered with a version of Cover 3. Hopkins does a nice job on his hitch route, catching the ball and spinning away from the cornerback for an 8-yard gain.

Against the Green Bay Packers, the Titans ran a play-action passing play against zone coverage that shows just how big of a target Hopkins can be for Mahomes. The Chiefs are one of the league’s most efficient running teams, so an argument can be made that coach Andy Reid and coordinator Matt Nagy should call more play-action passes with Mahomes under center in the second half of the season.

One reason Hopkins (top of the photo below) is wide open in the middle of the field is that the Packers’ two safeties are worried about giving up a deep completion, one that could go for a 36-yard touchdown. The Chiefs receiver running the deep post or fade route would be Worthy, one of the league’s fastest players. The play for the Titans ended with an easy 15-yard completion. Just imagine Hopkins running a similar route alongside Worthy and tight end Travis Kelce.

When the Titans faced man coverage, which was far less often than zone, Hopkins showed his polished route-running ability to create an easy throwing target, even when he didn’t create sizable separation against a cornerback.

A five-time Pro Bowler, Hopkins should have another touchdown this season. But Levis, facing pressure from the New York Jets, targeted him way too late. Hopkins (left in the photo below) had beaten cornerback Sauce Gardner on a corner route and should have had a touchdown in the back corner of the end zone.

Such skills should elevate the Chiefs’ passing production inside the red zone. When the Chiefs have been in the red zone, they have faced plenty of man coverage. The issue is that too often Mahomes’ receivers haven’t been able to create separation or make contested catches.

On a back-shoulder throw against man coverage from the Packers, Hopkins shielded the defender while leaping, catching the ball with ease and then breaking a tackle to get into the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown.

“In my time, we’ve had receivers that can make some of those contested catches,” Mahomes said Wednesday. “Once you build that relationship and trust, you put (the ball) up and let guys go make plays. That’s what’s special about coach Reid’s offense, that it adapts to whoever is in there. He has different ways to utilize your strengths. Then it’s my job to give guys chances to make plays.”

Based on his film, Hopkins’ best performance of the season was against the Packers, as he finished with six receptions on seven targets for 73 yards and his lone touchdown of the season. In that game, Hopkins ran crisp routes from the perimeter and the slot, whether the formation was condensed or more spread out with Levis in the shotgun. Do you want a slick corner route against Cover 3? Sure. You want a dig route in the middle of the defense? You got it. Do you want an out route from a condensed formation? Consider it done.

How does Hopkins fit the Chiefs in 2024?

Hopkins is experienced enough to quickly recognize any coverage he sees and versatile enough to play any receiver spot in the Chiefs’ scheme.

The Chiefs could have Hopkins play the role that Smith-Schuster had against the New Orleans Saints, one in which he can run most of his routes from the slot to give Mahomes plenty of easy completions. Similar to Smith-Schuster, Hopkins can gain yards after the catch on crossing routes or routes against zone coverage. If the Chiefs want to use Worthy’s speed more often from the slot, Hopkins can be effective in running traditional routes from the perimeter.

“Whenever a new guy gets into the building, it’s just getting on that same page as quickly as possible,” Mahomes said. “Even with guys like (running back) Kareem (Hunt), just being able to talk with him throughout the (pass) protection calls and talk with him throughout the plays and make sure he knows what his job is to do and letting him go out and execute it.

“I’ve dealt with that throughout my entire career — bringing new guys in. That’s a part of the NFL. I think the coaches do a great job of making sure guys are prepared so they can have success.”

What does it mean for the receiver room in 2024?

Hopkins, 32, is the Chiefs’ most experienced receiver, so he should be counted on to offer advice to younger receivers alongside receivers coach Connor Embree. One of those receivers is third-year man Justyn Ross, a 6-4, 210-pounder on the practice squad. Ross should spend every minute he can with Hopkins to help develop his skills.

Acquiring Hopkins should also help Worthy, Watson and Hardman keep their usual roles. When Smith-Schuster returns, Mahomes should have three pass catchers, along with Hopkins and Kelce, who can devour zone coverage.

Reid also offered a bit of hope Wednesday that Brown could return to practice before the end of the regular season.

“He’s doing great,” Reid said of Brown, who sustained his injury on the opening snap of the preseason. “He seems to be on schedule or a little bit ahead of schedule. It’s going to be a while, though. But he’s a relentless worker. He’s doing very well for what he’s got.”

Why the deal made sense

The highest compensation the Chiefs could have sent a team in a trade was a 2025 third-round pick. The Chiefs have two 2025 third-round picks, including one they received from the Titans for cornerback L’Jarius Sneed. Earlier this month, a 2025 third-round pick was what it took for the Buffalo Bills to acquire Amari Cooper and the Jets to acquire Davante Adams.

The Chiefs, though, didn’t want to surrender one of their third-rounders, which could’ve been a factor when negotiating with teams such as the New York Giants (Darius Slayton) and Carolina Panthers (Diontae Johnson).

The Chiefs also discussed receiver Cooper Kupp with the Los Angeles Rams, team sources said. But the Chiefs needed to trade with a team that was willing to take on a large chunk of the player’s salary. Tennessee was willing to play ball. Hopkins is in the final season of a two-year, $26 million deal.

Sending the Titans a Day 3 draft pick while the Titans pay part of Hopkins’ salary made it an easy call for the Chiefs.

What does it mean for the Chiefs’ future at receiver?

Once again, Chiefs fans should get ready to study the receiver prospects in the upcoming draft. Here’s the list of receivers who are on the Chiefs’ 2025 salary-cap sheet: Worthy, Rice and Moore.

There’s also no guarantee that Moore will be on the initial 2025 roster. Through six games this season, left tackle Wanya Morris has better receiving statistics (one reception for a 1-yard touchdown) than Moore, who has yet to record a reception but has two dropped passes. If the Chiefs release Moore, they would save $1.58 million in salary-cap space while having to eat a dead cap hit of less than $500,000.

It would be logical for Reid and general manager Brett Veach to target another receiver with a second- or third-round pick in next year’s draft.

(Top photo: Andy Lyons / Getty Images)

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