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Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes
October 17, 2024 By  Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs Add ‘Instant Impact’ WR to Help Patrick Mahomes in Blockbuster Proposal

The Kansas City Chiefs figure to be among the more active teams shopping the wide receiver market ahead of the November 5 NFL trade deadline.

Tennessee Titans NFL DeAndre Hopkins
DeAndre Hopkins is good to go in week 3

After all, while the Chiefs appear to be one of the most dominant teams in the AFC, this is a franchise going for a historic third consecutive Super Bowl victory with Patrick Mahomes the focal point and driving force of the offense. Kansas City has also already lost Marquise “Hollywood” Brown for the remainder of the regular season, and could be without Rashee Rice for the rest of the year,

Fortunately for the Chiefs, even after both Davante Adams and Amari Cooper were traded this week, there are still several difference-making wide receivers who could be on the move ahead of the deadline.

Kansas City Chiefs Linked to ‘Game-Changing’ Wide Receiver Trade

Tennessee Titans All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins could be made available, especially if the franchise decides to move towards a rebuild while trying to accumulate draft capital to move up in next spring’s NFL Draft.

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell suggests the Chiefs are an ideal destination for Hopkins, if he’s dealt.

In the deal Barnwell outlines, the Chiefs get Hopkins for a song, too, in exchange for a measly fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

“Hopkins isn’t the player he was in his prime,” Barnwell writes for ESPN. “But he is still a productive receiver. He has 175 yards across the first month of the year, but he has run only 73 routes. He averaged a healthy 2.2 yards per route run a year ago and is at 2.4 yards per route run this season.

“With the Titans having signed Calvin Ridley to be their primary wideout this offseason, Hopkins is likely to move on after the season. They have played Tyler Boyd and 2022 first-round pick Treylon Burks ahead of Hopkins this season, and moving the veteran would give Burks a full season to prove whether he’s part of Tennessee’s future. This might not feel like a massive return for a veteran wideout with Hopkins’ history, but he didn’t have a huge free agent market two offseasons ago, is older now, is battling a knee issue and is owed meaningful money over the remainder of the year. He wouldn’t have a huge market, but the Chiefs feel like the correct fit and would benefit from his strengths.”

DeAndre Hopkins
Sep 22, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (10) makes a catch as Green Bay Packers cornerback Eric Stokes (21) covers during the first half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Hopkins signing in Tennessee, as the Titans were seemingly straddling the line between rebuilding and competing never quite made sense, and while he’s caught 14 passes for 175 yards and one touchdown this season, a change of scenery and having the chance to become one of Mahomes’ top targets may reinvigorate the veteran’s career while giving the Chiefs another game-altering weapon amid their title chase.

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About Matt Lombardo

Matt Lombardo is a seasoned NFL reporter, with over 12 years of experience covering the league. In addition to his work at Gridiron Heroics, Lombardo covers the NFL for Heavy.com, is an on air sports contributor for FOX29 Philadelphia, and writes an NFL Substack "Between The Hashmarks." Lombardo is the former Senior NFL Insider of FanBuzz, and prior to taking that role was a national NFL reporter at FanSided where he hosted a weekly podcast "The Matt Lombardo Show." A former beat reporter for NJ Advance Media (Parent company of NJ.com and the Newark Star Ledger), Lombardo covered the Philadelphia Eagles from 2011 through the 2017 season before moving to cover the New York Giants for the Star Ledger for two seasons from 2018 through 2020. During his career to date, Lombardo has covered five Super Bowls, four NFL Drafts, multiple NFL Combines, and has had his work frequently featured in publications such as Pro Football Talk, CBS Sports, and more. In addition to his journalism work, Lombardo is a strong on air presence and is a former sports talk radio host on 97.5 FM The Fanatic, Philadelphia's first FM Sports Station and the radio home of the Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia Flyers.

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