Titans DeAndre Hopkins trade verdict is in: some good news and some bad news surrounding the deadline deal with the Chiefs

The Titans might not be getting the most out of their trade with the Chiefs, but it looks like they’re lucky to be getting anything

Easton Freeze — Tennessee Titans Beat Writer

Jan 21, 2025 9:15 AM EST

Before the 2024 NFL trade deadline, the Tennessee Titans sent WR DeAndre Hopkins to the Kansas City Chiefs for a conditional 5th round pick. It was a move that signaled the Titans partly waving the white flag on their floundering season, and for the Chiefs, it signaled their desire to shore up Patrick Mahomes' receiving options before the playoff push.

Hopkins had spent the past year and a half being the Titans most productive and reliable receiving option. At the ripe age of 32, he still had some real gas in the tank. And so the trade was seen at the time as a significant swing for Kansas City, and a serious calculated loss for the Titans in the passing game. To only get a conditional 5th rounder was questioned by some fans, who all hoped he would reach the marks that would trigger it becoming a 4th rounder: playing at least 60% of the Chiefs snaps on offense, and reaching the Super Bowl.

Flash forward three months, and the picture has shifted significantly. Hopkins' impact in Kansas City has been marginal and on the decline. If you saw the Chiefs advance to the AFC Championship by beating the Texans over the Divisional Weekend, you may have began to wonder if Hopkins would reach the markers for the conditional pick. His team is one win away from their 3rd straight Super Bowl appearance, after all. We're awfully close to checking that box.

But if you paid attention to the game, you also probably didn't notice Hopkins… at all. That's because he was involved less in the Divisional Round than in any game he'd played for KC all year. And that's indicative of the bad news in all of this: you can stop rooting for the Chiefs to make the Super Bowl, Titans fans, because Hopkins isn't anywhere close to playing 60% of snaps.

The grand total with at least one, possibly two games left to play is 372 out of 790 offensive snaps. That's how many DHop has played in KC, which is merely 47.1%. And if you take a look at this chart of each week, you'll see how he hasn't been anywhere close to the 60% total number since the first couple weeks of his time in Kansas City.

His involvement has dropped off as the year has gone on. He's struggling to get onto the field. Part of that is the development of some Chiefs receiving options and the return to health for some others, but it's also a simple reflection of his age. Take a look at his production statistically in this next chart. He's been a big impact a couple of times earlier in the year, but hasn't really done anything of note in a while.

This is the good news portion of the DHop trade. While the Titans aren't going to sniff that 4th round pick, getting a 5th is looking like a steal for what they gave up. Hopkins was on an expiring contract anyways, and they stood to gain nothing from losing him. Ran Carthon's decision to pull the plug at the deadline, get what he could for the 32 year old receiver, and risk sending him to the most dangerous team in the AFC was a move that has paid off. He won the trade.

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