The Kansas City Chiefs needed help at wide receiver during the 2024 season so Brett Veach went and did something he typically doesn't do: He traded for a wide receiver. That wide receiver was DeAndre Hopkins, who Chiefs fans wanted the team to sign ahead of the 2023 season but he chose to sign with the Tennessee Titans instead.
Hopkins wasn't a superstar with the Chiefs by any means but he still was a solid addition for the team. He finished the regular season with 41 catches for 437 yards and four touchdowns. More importantly, he helped Xavier Worthy kick it into high gear. Before Hopkins got to Kansas City, Worthy had been struggling. Once Hopkins was a Chief, Worthy looked like a totally different receiver.
Hopkins' brief tenure isn't looked at as a success by everyone, however. NFL.com columnist Jeffri Chadiha recently appeared on Glenn Clark's radio show and said that Hopkins was "miscast in Kansas City".
"I think people who are really being honest with themselves when [Hopkins] showed up [to Kansas City] understood that. You look at Patrick Mahomes and his willingness to throw contested catches throughout his career; he has never been that kind of quarterback, and DeAndre Hopkins is exactly that type of receiver. I wasn't surprised that it went downhill."
NFL analyst slams DeAndre Hopkins' brief Chiefs tenure
The Chiefs made it pretty clear how they felt about Hopkins when they let him not only walk in free agency but do so for an affordable contract that he ended up signing with Baltimore. A former NFL executive even went as far to say that Hopkins is "just a name at this point" of his career, which could potentially be another reason K.C. wasn't interested in keeping him around. The Chiefs saw enough and decided they were fine moving on from him.
With Hopkins off to Baltimore, the Chiefs' starting wide receivers will be Worthy, Hollywood Brown, and Rashee Rice (pending suspension and return from injury) but they also have JuJu Smith-Schuster and will hopefully add more help in the draft. Meanwhile, Hopkins will join Lamar Jackson in Baltimore and should be a great fit for the Ravens.
It's unfortunate that Hopkins wasn't able to win a Super Bowl with Kansas City but to say that he was "miscast" and act like he didn't do well with the Chiefs seems a bit much.
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