The Kansas City Chiefs are acquiring wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Tennesee Titans for a conditional draft pick.
The Kansas City Chiefs are finalizing a deal to acquire former All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Tennessee Titans for a conditional draft pick, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The deal is for a fifth-round pick that could become a fourth-rounder. The Titans are also expected to retain some of Hopkins’ salary. Hopkins was Tennessee’s second-best receiver with 15 receptions for 173 yards on the year.
Chiefs Fleece Titans in Trade for Former All-Pro Wide Receiver
Impact for Chiefs
This move will immediately make the Kansas City Chiefs better. Barring any injuries, the Chiefs just landed (arguably) the best wide receiver currently available on the trade market.
Despite his struggles in Tennesee, Hopkins managed to record 75 receptions last year for 1057 yards and seven touchdowns. He put up those impressive numbers with minimal quarterback consistency since the Titans ended up starting three different quarterbacks in 2023. Now, Hopkins goes from the walking disaster that is Will Levis to a future Hall of Famer in Patrick Mahomes. That’s an easy way to jump-start your once-elite career.
This move made a ton of sense for Kansas City. Since the start of training camp, the Chiefs receiver room has experienced pain. Hollywood Brown went down in the preseason and will likely miss the entire year. After that, Rashee Rice was lost for the season in week four. JuJu Smith-Schuster going down in week seven was the final nail in the coffin that forced KC to pull the trigger on Hopkins.
Trading away a fifth-rounder for Hopkins is a no-brainer. He hasn’t been named an All-Pro since 2020, but he has also bounced around from Arizona to Tennessee over the last four years. That’s not exactly a path to success for a wide receiver. Even if the pick becomes a fourth-rounder, this is still an excellent acquisition for the Chiefs.
This trade will open up the offense for other players. A legit number-one receiver like Hopkins will draw attention away from Travis Kelce, who has found his groove after a slow start to the season. The trade also takes some pressure off of Xavier Worthy, giving Andy Reid the option to draw up more exciting plays for the speedster like the end-around touchdown we saw in week one.
This is an absolute home run for the Chiefs. With the addition of Hopkins, I expect Patrick Mahomes to start putting up much better stat lines like we have come to expect from the three-time Super Bowl MVP. If you’re another team in the AFC, this move should send shivers down your spine because the rich just got richer.
Titanic Struggle
Every week, the Tennessee Titans find a new way to establish themselves as the worst team in the league.
Heading into week seven, the Titans were 1-4 and forced to bench turnover machine Will Levis due to an injury. That means Levis would’ve gotten the nod to start against the Bills had he been healthy. Regardless, Mason Rudolph was brought in to replace Levis. He responded to that challenge by leading the Titans to just ten points, their worst offensive output of the season.
It’s unclear if Levis or Rudolph will be starting in week eight. Either way, the starter will be going into Detroit without his second-best receiving option.
I understand the decision to trade Hopkins. The Titans will not be competing for a playoff spot this year, and they need to stockpile draft picks for the future. The problem is the return they got from this trade. YOU GAVE KANSAS CITY A FORMER ALL-PRO AND WILL ONLY GET A FOURTH-ROUNDER AT BEST FOR IT?! DHop was still a 1,000-yard receiver in 2023. A second-round pick might have been out of the question, but you couldn’t have made the conditional pick a third-rounder? What is general manager Ran Carthon doing?
The Titans are currently the worst team in the NFL. They are tied with four other teams for the worst record in the league, but at least those other teams have some potential. The Cleveland Browns offense will get better now that Deshaun Watson is out of the picture for this season. Also, the Patriots are building something for the future with Drake Maye. At the end of the season, it’ll come down to the Carolina Panthers and the Titans for who has the worst record in the NFL. Let the race to the bottom begin!
Main Photo: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
