Newly acquired WR DeAndre Hopkins is the perfect fit to fill the biggest void in Chiefs' passing game
In case you're not up to speed, the Kansas City Chiefs have traded a fifth-round pick, which could become a fourth, to the Tennessee Titans for wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Since being drafted by the Houston Texans in 2013, Hopkins has been one of the best receivers of his era. The five-time All-Pro has 943 career […]
In case you're not up to speed, the Kansas City Chiefs have traded a fifth-round pick, which could become a fourth, to the Tennessee Titans for wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
Since being drafted by the Houston Texans in 2013, Hopkins has been one of the best receivers of his era. The five-time All-Pro has 943 career receptions for 12,528 yards and 79 touchdowns. He is now leaving a Titans team that is 1-5 and ranks 31st in overall offense to the 6-0 Chiefs who rank 10th offensively.
Make no mistake, Kansas City has had issues within its offensive, particularly in the passing game. Losing receivers Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown has been a major blow, which has contributed to quarterback Patrick Mahomes having the worst start to a season of his career. Before suffering a season-ending knee injury, Rice was developing into one of the best receivers in the NFL.
At the NFL Scouting Combine, Rice was asked who he models his game after.
“I’ll probably say DeAndre Hopkins just because we both attack the ball real aggressive,” Rice said. “And then you never know what we can do when the ball’s in our hands.”
The Chiefs were heavily interested in signing Hopkins in 2023, but just didn't have the salary cap space to make it happen. While it would have been nice to have him, Rice came on strong in the second half of the season and helped the Chiefs win their second consecutive Super Bowl.
It's easy to see the similarities between Hopkins and Rice. They are both six-foot-1 and are extremely difficult to tackle after the catch with their blend of power and speed. They also do a good job of finding soft spots against zone coverage, which complements the downfield speed of rookie receiver Xavier Worthy well.
All of those qualities make Hopkins the perfect player to fill the void left by Rice. It shouldn't take long for the veteran Hopkins to settle into Rice's role and become a big contributor to the Chiefs' offense. With how much Rice was producing, Hopkins has the opportunity to resurrect his career and put up some big numbers.
Developing chemistry with Mahomes will be vital. Hopkins has long been a fan of Mahomes and is presumably very eager to get to work with him. Rice became Mahomes' go-to guy this season, possibly paving the way for Hopkins to fill that role. Hopkins has 12 games to get acclimated with Mahomes and the offense before the postseason, which is when the Chiefs will really need him to be his best self.
Kansas City Chiefs WR DeAndre Hopkins now has a chance to change the trajectory of his legacy
The Chiefs are here to help.
