Brett Veach understood his assignment.
On Wednesday, the general manager woke up with his Kansas City Chiefs in prime position. They’re 6–0, the league’s lone unbeaten team. They’re two games clear in the loss column of everyone in the AFC. And, yet, their situation could be viewed as tenuous.
That changed with the trade for DeAndre Hopkins.
The Chiefs sent a fifth-round selection that could turn into a fourth-rounder to the Tennessee Titans for Hopkins, a 32-year-old receiver coming off a 1,000-yard campaign in 2023 despite catching passes from Will Levis and Ryan Tannehill. This year, Hopkins has been limited in Tennessee’s pop-gun attack, catching 15 passes on 21 targets for 173 yards and a touchdown.
Still, Hopkins is a future Hall of Famer with more than 12,000 career receiving yards. He’s also just 57 receptions away from 1,000, a benchmark only reached by 14 men in NFL history. For Hopkins, a five-time All-Pro (three first teams), this is likely his best shot to finally win a Super Bowl.
For Kansas City, the move was all about fit after losing both Marquise Brown and Rashee Rice to major injuries earlier this season. Hopkins will play inside, taking over the role which Rice starred in until a season-ending knee injury in Week 4. Once JuJu Smith-Schuster returns from his hamstring injury, expect Hopkins to play all over the field, being used as a chess piece for Patrick Mahomes to deploy.
Ultimately, though, this move wasn’t about one player. It’s also about a mission.
The Chiefs are trying to win a third consecutive Super Bowl, something no team has ever done. Kansas City has one of the league’s elite defenses, ranking 10th in yards allowed per game and fifth in points. With DC Steve Spagnuolo masterminding the unit, it’s always going to keep the opponent within reach.
But while the Chiefs were able to roll unscathed through a schedule, including the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and San Francisco 49ers in their first six weeks, all wasn’t well. Mahomes has gotten off to a slow start with six touchdown passes against eight interceptions. The leading receiver on the team is Rice, who hasn’t caught a pass since Week 3.
All told, Kansas City was arguably living on borrowed time with its offense. Not anymore.
And in that vein, the Chiefs are now set. This is the big deal. Maybe another minor one will come, but Veach has pushed his proverbial chips into the middle. After losing Brown and Rice, Kansas City was limping along offensively behind the tough running of Kareem Hunt, with Isiah Pacheco still approximately a month away from returning after getting a leg injury in Week 2. Once he returns, coach Andy Reid will suddenly have a nasty two-back combo to work with, something which should pay dividends in the cold of January.
With Hopkins, the Chiefs now have a triumvirate in Hopkins, Travis Kelce and speedy rookie Xavier Worthy. When Smith-Schuster comes back, he gives them another viable veteran option. Then there’s backup tight end Noah Gray, who has become a real contributor with 14 catches on 15 targets for 185 yards.
Additionally, this trade also does something else: It removes any excuses for the offense.
Kansas City’s offense has been in somewhat of a stagnant state the past year and a half, flailing around without a top receiver. In 2023, Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney were supposed to be the answers to a group without a star name. It didn’t work. This season, Brown and Rice were real difference-makers but both succumbed to injury.
Through seven weeks, the Chiefs are 10th in yards per game and 13th in points. Mahomes has been off. The receivers have struggled to separate. Suddenly, with Hopkins, those issues should begin to clear up.
If they don’t, real questions must be asked about why the unit can’t seem to find the mojo which has largely defined it throughout Mahomes’s tenure.
From a big-picture perspective, Kansas City is doing its part to chase a historic championship. After watching the Buffalo Bills trade for Amari Cooper last week, Veach chose to match with a star wideout of his own. The stakes are high, the ante was raised and the Chiefs decided to raise rather than fold.
Regardless of how the season turns out, nobody can say Kansas City isn’t going for broke in a year which demands it, considering everything at play.
Veach knew what needed to be done. Now, the Chiefs have to fulfill their promise with a roster better than it was only a day ago.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chiefs Show They’re All In With Trade for DeAndre Hopkins.
