Five ex-NFL players on how Chiefs’ offense will benefit from DeAndre Hopkins
The Chiefs front office is doing what it can as the team seeks to win an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl title.
As injuries mount, the Chiefs have brought in players via free agency or trades to help the offense. The latest move was a big one: a deal to acquire wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from Tennessee.
There’s a good chance Hopkins will make his Chiefs debut Sunday against the Raiders in Las Vegas. How can Hopkins help the offense? Five former NFL players shared their thoughts this week.
Greg Jennings
Jennings, a two-time Pro Bowl receiver who was with the Packers, Vikings and Dolphins in a 10-season career, believes Hopkins will help quarterback Patrick Mahomes in an interesting way.
“Patrick Mahomes, obviously, he’s been a part of all their success. He’s the driving force of their success,” Jennings said on “First Things First.” “But when you keep bringing in young guys who haven’t experienced the NFL, you’re kind of bringing them up to speed, trying to bring them along to what you’re establishing. Well, now you bring in a veteran guy who’s been proven, hasn’t had great playoff success, has never sniffed the opportunity to actually play in the Super Bowl. Now you bring him in, and now you’re Patrick Mahomes, and you’ve been throwing all these interceptions, and you’ve been playing a little carelessly.
“He fits the style of which defensive coordinators want them to play. They want them to take the long route down the field, not go with the long ball. DeAndre Hopkins fits that mode. He has a great catch radius. He can run every route in the route tree. He may get you great separation. He doesn’t need to get you great separation, because he’s going to make all the contested catches.”
Trent Green
Green, the former Chiefs quarterback, thinks Hopkins will fill a void left by Rashee Rice’s season-ending injury.
“It’s at a stage of DeAndre’s career, 32 years old, I would think that he understands, kind of what’s being asked of him,” said Green, who is now a CBS Sports analyst. “They wanted someone to take the top off. So that’s why you go out and get a Marquise Brown and a Xavier Worthy. But when Rashee got hurt, you needed that complimentary piece in the middle of the field. And if you look at DeAndre’s career, he’s a career 13.3 yards per catch for reception. He was injured a couple years ago, missed significant games in 2021 and 2022, but last year he had 75 catches for over 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns. So the production is still there.
“I think he fills the need that they lost with Rashee and that’s the middle of the field to be that complimentary piece with Travis (Kelce) and Noah Gray in the middle of the field. So when you do take the top off, you’ve got those intermediate throws that are so critical.
“The other thing DeAndre brings is, obviously, he’s great at getting contested balls. I think throughout his career, you get him down in the red zone, his ability to go up and fight for the ball, I think it just adds another piece to the puzzle. So it’s a good thing for the Chiefs.”
Emmanuel Acho
A former Eagles linebacker, Acho is co-host of “The Facility” on FS1. He said Hopkins can make an impact late in a game.
“DeAndre Hopkins isn’t there to make 10 catches a game,” Acho said on his show. “DeAndre Hopkins is in Kansas City to make the one catch that seals the game. I thought about the one most important moment for the Kansas City Chiefs last year versus the Baltimore Ravens.”
Acho mentioned the game-sealing pass from Mahomes to Marquez Valdes-Scantling in the AFC Championship Game.
“You don’t need DeAndre Hopkins to make 10 catches a game, I promise you. You need DeAndre Hopkins to make the one catch that seals the game, and the chiefs are likely going to need to make that one play to seal their three-peat.”
Andrew Hawkins
Hawkins played four seasons in the NFL with the Browns and Bengals. While on ESPN, Hawkins talked about how Hopkins will be playing with the best quarterback in his career.
“The special thing about DeAndre Hopkins. And when you think about chemistry, is he’s had seven 1,000-yard seasons. ... The reason why we thought he was so great, he was doing it with every quarterback they had out there, and they weren’t like blockbuster guys, right?” Hawkins said. “And every great receiver, every good receiver you can think of, you could always name the good quarterback they have. DeAndre Hopkins, could do it with anyone. With Patrick Mahomes, I think you’re going to see some vintage versions of him.”
Pat McAfee
The former Colts punter has his own show on ESPN and said although Hopkins is 32 years old, he could be rejuvenated in KC. McAfee began by sharing info from ESPN’s Paul Hembekides.
“There’s some stats here that say everything that Patrick Mahomes needs and hasn’t had this year, which has led to a very slow start for Patrick Mahomes, underneath Patrick Mahomes’ standards, DeAndre Hopkins helps out with,” McAfee said. “Zone coverage, he’s quickly open. Understands hot routes, understands defenses. Yards zero to 11 for passes, in the past Patrick Mahomes has been very good, understands defenses, gets the ball out quickly there. DeAndre Hopkins eats in these (situations), let alone what he’s able to do down the field.
“There’s a lot of people saying he’s washed. Was Kareem Hunt washed whenever he went over there? Were other players that end up in a good program, a good organization, with a shot to win a Super Bowl? Do they all of a sudden, seemingly find the fountain of youth, especially at some of these teams that have been chasing rings over the last 20 years? Yeah, they do.
“Remember Randy Moss before he went up to New England. (Rob) Gronkowski was retired. Back was bad, old, everything like that. Goes to Tampa: Boom. JuJu (Smith-Schuster) goes back to Kansas City: Boom, has production. It’s like sometimes a little motivation, a little hope, a little optimism, can spur a little bit more activity or a little bit more awesome from the greats. I believe DeAndre Hopkins is going to fit in great over there.”
This story was originally published October 25, 2024 at 10:10 AM.
