Henry McKenna
NFL Reporter
The Kansas City Chiefs have found their new WR1 for what feels like the fifth time in a year.
With Kansas City trading for DeAndre Hopkins, Patrick Mahomes will look to get the most out of the 32-year-old wideout. The deal, which will send a conditional fourth-round pick to the Titans, follows injuries to Chiefs receivers Hollywood Brown, Rashee Rice and JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Hopkins was on the final year of his contract with the Titans, who, per multiple reports, took on roughly half of the receiver’s $5.05 million base salary to accommodate the Chiefs’ cap limitations. Hopkins was off to a slow start with the 1-5 Titans, with 15 catches for 173 yards and a touchdown.
This is the third straight year in which the Chiefs have traded for a receiver midseason. It was Kadarius Toney in 2022, Mecole Hardman in 2023 and now Hopkins in 2024. The trade for Hopkins is an indication of how the previous two trades have not worked out. (And for that matter, it’s an indication of how the recent draft picks of Xavier Worthy and Skyy Moore have not brought immediate returns — though it’s far too soon to determine Worthy’s long-term prospects.)
With Andy Reid and GM Brett Veach struggling to get returns out of midseason trades for wideouts, it’s fair to question whether Hopkins can get it done for the Chiefs.
Hopkins is currently tied for 28th with Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Jr. on ESPN Analytics’ “open” rating that measures separation. That’s not bad company, by any means. But it’s a decline from 2023, when Hopkins was one of the top separators in the NFL, tied with Garrett Wilson and A.J. Brown for fifth, per ESPN Analytics. Hopkins also managed to put up more than 1,000 receiving yards last season despite an adverse quarterback situation.
Given that Hopkins is on the older side, it’s concerning that his production has waned significantly to start the 2024 season. It’s clear that Will Levis, one of the NFL’s worst starting quarterbacks, is largely to blame for Hopkins’ disappearance. But we won’t know how big a reason until Mahomes starts throwing to Hopkins.
Smith-Schuster experienced a similar decline over the past few years in New England, where he couldn’t produce in the same way that he did with the Chiefs — and certainly not at the same level as he did with the Pittsburgh Steelers. But when asked to do more for the Chiefs offense in 2024, Smith-Schuster put up seven catches for 130 yards against the New Orleans Saints. Mahomes doesn’t have that effect on every receiver, but there’s no doubt that the quarterback can raise the production of the right wideout.
Hopkins is a good fit for the Chiefs. He has the size and athleticism to get open in every area on the field, and will likely step into the role of the injured Rice — a possession receiver who can attack the deep third of the field when the time is right. That’ll make space for Worthy over the top and, perhaps, could reduce the number of double-teams on Travis Kelce.
Even with Kansas City struggling to acclimate receivers midseason, and even with Hopkins showing signs of age, it’s hard to bet against a Hopkins-Mahomes combination — particularly with Reid designing plays. Just look at what the Buffalo Bills did with Amari Cooper, who joined the team in a trade and, within days, had 60 yards and a touchdown in his debut.
[Related: NFL Trade deadline tracker]
The good news for the Chiefs is that they didn’t risk much to make the deal work. They’ll pay Hopkins at a discount for the remainder of the season. The draft-pick compensation is a fifth-round pick that jumps to a fourth-rounder depending upon Hopkins’ playing time and a Chiefs Super Bowl win. Those are conditions that would make K.C. happy to give up an early Day 3 pick.
Does DeAndre Hopkins solve the Chiefs’ offensive struggles?
It’s the type of trade that’s good for the NFL.
Late in the Titans’ blowout loss to the Bills in Week 7, Hopkins was standing near head coach Brian Callahan — and not joining his offense on the field. He was dealing with a knee injury, but it seemed clear the Titans were holding out in an abundance of caution and because they had no chance of winning the game in a season when they have no chance of making the playoffs.
We were seeing Tennessee waste the final years of Hopkins’ prime.
Now, this isn’t to say Hopkins had some agency in the process — he picked the Titans over the Chiefs (among others) in free agency in 2023, per FOX Sports’ Peter Schrager. But it’s great to see teams working to move their stars (like Hopkins, Davante Adams and Cooper) off irrelevant teams (like the Titans, Raiders and Browns) to improve the quality of play of contenders. Until recently, these were the kind of deals that fans would dream about at the deadline but would not get, because of the NFL’s overall trade inflexibility.
The league is so much better for the movement on the trade market. Now the question is how much better Hopkins can make the Chiefs.
Prior to joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.
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