Wake up! We’ve got an NFL trade of some significance!
DeAndre Hopkins, who has had a pretty bad year for the hapless Tennessee Titans, is now joining the Kansas City Chiefs, a move that was needed given the Rashee Rice injury that left a sizeable hole at wide receiver for Patrick Mahomes’ squad.
Whatever Hopkins did previously is wiped away, though. Getting to catch passes from Mahomes is all that matters now, and the given the QB’s “down” year (the Chiefs are undefeated!), this can only help.
So, as always, let’s throw out some trade grades for both teams to see who won.
The DeAndre Hopkins trade details
Chiefs get: WR DeAndre Hopkins
Titans get: A fifth-round pick that could become a fourth-round selection
(Note: as of publishing, this isn’t completed yet, but it’s been reported.)
Kansas City Chiefs grade
The depth chart wasn’t looking too deep as of late for the Chiefs. JuJu Smith-Schuster was their top option along with rookie deep threat Xavier Worthy, and even though it was good to see Travis Kelce bouncing back from a slow start, it’s felt like the philosophy is to keep Kelce fresh for the postseason. Given his age, that’s smart.
So getting Hopkins was a good idea, even though he’s not the same star receiver he once was in Houston. I could see Mahomes feeding him a bunch once he’s acclimated to the offense.
The question is: with a lot of big-name receivers on the market, could they have gotten, say, Cooper Kupp?
No.
The Rams and the the Chiefs discussed Cooper Kupp, but the Super Bowl champs needed to trade with a team that was willing to take on a large chunk of the salary and didn’t want to give up high picks. Tennessee is the team willing to play ball.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) October 23, 2024
This will do nicely, and it didn’t cost much.
GRADE: B+
Tennessee Titans grade
Not much to say here. Hopkins was never going to fetch a huge price. They’re in sell mode, as they should be when they’re in the hunt for the top pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, so a fire sale works nicely. You’d hope for more compensation than what could be a fourth-rounder, but alas.
GRADE: B
