DeAndre Hopkins took just a single catch to turn heads of Chiefs Kingdom

It only took DeAndre Hopkins a single series with the Kansas City Chiefs to create a new legion of fans among Chiefs Kingdom.

Earlier this week, the Chiefs finally made their move at wide receiver before the NFL's trade deadline of November 5 when they flipped a fifth-round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft to the Tennessee Titans for wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. After watching other contenders trade for the likes of Davante Adams and Amari Cooper, it was frustrating to wait, but the Chiefs clearly knew what they were doing all along.

Coming into the team's Week 8 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Chiefs had a tall order to match up with such a physical opponent—especially such a hated rival—who was bound to play the Chiefs much tougher than their last-place position in the AFC West standings would suggest.

From the outset, the Chiefs showed an impressive drive as they opened the game by going 70 yards for what would ultimately be a short rushing touchdown for running back Kareem Hunt. On the first third down of the game, however, Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes looked to his newest teammate and trusted him in that moment.

Here's what it looked like:

Of course, Chiefs Kingdom was thrilled with that first catch and everything that resulted, including another big gain for Travis Kelce and an opportunistic drive.

Let's be honest, even before the catch, we were already going crazy with excitement for Hopkins' debut.

Once the catch was made, Chiefs Kingdom went bananas (or at least were quite happy, for the more measured members).

Sorry, defenses, but this is going to be the case going forward.

It's amazing how much difference a single player can make. 😉

And you knew this comment was coming.

We did. We most certainly did.