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NFL trade deadline grades: DeAndre Hopkins, Amari Cooper deals | ESPN
Kansas City Chiefs get: WR DeAndre Hopkins
Tennessee Titans get: Conditional fourth-round pick
Trade date: Oct. 23
Grade for the Chiefs: A-
Grade for the Titans: B
The Chiefs did what needed to be done: upgrading at wide receiver. After winning Super Bowl LVIII with a weak wide receiver room last season, they understood that the model wasn’t sustainable. In the offseason, they signed veteran Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and drafted Xavier Worthy in Round 1 to play alongside Rashee Rice. But after Rice and Brown suffered major injuries — Rice is out for the season (knee) and Brown will miss at least the regular season (shoulder) — and Worthy has been slower to develop, the Chiefs were worse off at receiver than where they started. Enter Hopkins.
To be clear, the player the Chiefs are getting is long removed from his peak from 2014 to ‘20, during which he averaged 2.3 yards per route run and recorded at least 1,350 receiving yards four times. Hopkins, 32, is averaging 1.8 yards per route run this season and has a 63/51/33 open/catch/YAC score by ESPN’s receiver metrics, which is solid but unspectacular. His production is surely affected by playing with Will Levis, however.
The grades
Chiefs: B+
Hopkins shouldn’t be viewed as the savior of a badly bruised wide receiver group, because he also isn’t at full speed, playing through a partially torn MCL at 32. The Chiefs aren’t really paying him to be that, though, considering the compensation, and they don’t really need him to be, either. “Nuk” is a proven route-runner with good hands, which should free up speedier counterparts like Xavier Worthy to focus more on downfield shots. And even if he can’t withstand a monster workload down the stretch, Kansas City should be able to mix and match his skills as a secondary outlet. You could do a lot worse for a half-season rental.
“There’s been a lot of turnovers, especially by me,” he said. “I think it’s just showing the versatility of our team. It’s not just about me, it’s not just about the stats and the light show and stuff like that. It’s about playing team football and I believe if we continue to work, we’ll get better offensively throwing the ball down the field. But until then, it’s nice to know that we have a great running game, we’ve got a great defense and we’re able to execute whenever the time comes to win football games.”
Analyst’s Take
Kansas City’s ability to adapt and overcome is truly impressive. We certainly didn’t expect the Chiefs to be relying on the likes of Hunt and Noah Gray when the season began, but here we are. The defense is awesome. Patrick Mahomes is still Patrick Mahomes, and Kansas City remains the team to beat.
The big question is whether Andy Reid can continue patching together an offense through another Super Bowl run—and I fully expect Kansas City to pursue a receiver before the Nov. 5 trade deadline. For now, though, I have to keep the Chiefs in the top spot. — Knox
Las Vegas Raiders +10 (-110) vs. Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs are the best team in football and I will continue to bet on them when they’re priced as underdogs. However, I’m not in love with them laying double digits. Their offense isn’t explosive but it’s super efficient. That makes it hard for them to consistently win by a large margin. Anyway, my number is in the single digits and I look forward to Mahomes and Co. making me hate myself for fading him.
Worst price to bet: Raiders +10 (-110)
D-Hop’s Impact in Kansas City
This is the third consecutive season where the Chiefs have made an in-season trade, acquiring Kadarius Toney in 2022 and Mecole Hardman in 2023. However, neither of those receivers has the accolades and skill set that Hopkins brings.
The accolades are impressive for Hopkins. Along with three first-team All-Pro and two second-team All-Pro selections, Hopkins is a five-time Pro Bowler who led the NFL with 13 receiving touchdowns in 2017. He’s had seven seasons with more than 1,000 receiving yards, including this past year.
However, at 32 years old, Hopkins struggled to have the same kind of impact this year with Will Levis and the Tennessee Titans. His 1.64 yards per route run is the lowest of his career since 2016, and the quality of his targets has dropped considering Levis’ erratic play, who has had to throw consistently while under duress.
Hopkins shows some signs of age on tape, but his ability has not completely fallen off. In fact, Hopkins put up some good tape earlier this season against Sauce Gardner and the New York Jets, showing his ability to still snap off routes to maximize separation against press coverage.
Around the NFL
At first, Crosby answered with some confusion the general question about how he’d feel if his coach called him soft. He then was told by Gray that Mayo used that term in reference to the Patriots.
“****,” Crosby said. “Well, shit. You know what I mean? He’s a player. So, he’s been around it. He played at the highest level. And, you know, if that’s how he feels that’s how he feels. But, you know, I can’t speak for him. But, yeah, I would not take it lightly. You know what I mean? I would have a major issue if I was a player, especially another grown man calling you soft. I mean, those are fighting words.”
Head coach Kevin Stefanski announced coordinator Ken Dorsey will take over offensive play-calling moving forward.
Stefanski noted it was fully his decision to make that change.
“I’m very confident in Ken and I’m very confident in our offensive staff,” Stefanski said during his Wednesday press conference. “I feel that this is — when you’re talking about playing good football and putting game plans together, it’s never one person’s job. It’s really a collaborative effort. I have a ton of faith in all of our coaches. And Ken calling the plays doesn’t change that collaborative approach.”
Dorsey, 43, was promoted to Bills offensive coordinator in 2022 after the club’s former coordinator, Brian Daboll, was hired as Giants head coach. He was then fired midway through the 2023 season and replaced by Joe Brady.
What Hopkins can do for the Chiefs
Hopkins’ size and weight (listed at 6’1” and 212 pounds) is in the range of wide receivers Rashee Rice (6’1 and 204 pounds) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (6’1” and 215 pounds) — something that was important in whichever player the Chiefs landed upon.
With Rice presumably out for the season (and Smith-Schuster working through a hamstring injury that will see him miss at least Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders), establishing a capable target opposite tight end Travis Kelce was paramount.
“The guy opposite of Kelce ends up being very important”, said head coach Andy Reid on October 16, “that they know how to play the game and can kind of do similar things that Kelce can do. If you can get that, then you’ve got something going offensively that way.
“So, [JuJu Smith-Schuster] did that before, [former WR Byron] Pringle did that before him. We’ve had guys in those spots that could do that, so that’s a positive thing.”
Social media to make you think
There is a “real chance” Hollywood Brown returns for the Chiefs by the playoffs, per @JamesPalmerTV pic.twitter.com/7NHaWlCqgu
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) October 23, 2024
