DeAndre Hopkins is the Steal of the Season: Chiefs’ Trade Deadline Move Pays Off in…
The Kansas City Chiefs are chasing a historic goal of a three-peat. Not everything has been perfect for K.C. inside of this chase, but there are still some positives that the Chiefs can lean on when the games get into crunch time. At the same time, some clear flaws are worth monitoring.
Even amidst the current hiccups that the Chiefs have shown us, one thing is clear. Their trade acquisition of wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is making the sort of impact for which Kansas City was hoping, and he has not even garnered a full workload of snaps in certain contests.
If you look around the NFL, very few pre-trade deadline deals this season have made much of an impact so far. You cannot include Hopkins joining the Chiefs on that list, however. What has DeAndre Hopkins been able to do to help the Chiefs’ offense? Is there a chance that his early success in Kansas City will elevate this team even further in the postseason?
Chiefs are getting more bang for their deadline bucks
A plethora of moves were made across the NFL before this year’s trade deadline. As we look back on the full list of trades from the Sporting News, six total wide receivers were acquired. Outside of Hopkins, Davante Adams, Mike Williams, Diontae Johnson, and Amari Cooper were all acquired by teams in the AFC. Only Jonathan Mingo was moved to an NFC squad.
Cooper has been able to provide some splashes with Buffalo’s offense. Adams was able to make a few key plays with his longtime friend Aaron Rodgers. But in comparison to the other wide receiver moves, DeAndre Hopkins has provided a greater bang for the buck of the Chiefs than arguably any wide receiver move from the deadline.
In Kansas City so far, Hopkins has amassed 26 receptions, 325 receiving yards, and 3 receiving touchdowns in six games played. Some of those other pieces only have one catch for their new teams. Adams now has five more catches with the Jets than Hopkins does with the Chiefs after Sunday’s Week 13 action.
In the case of Johnson in Baltimore, the lack of usage is becoming a bit quirky. Comments from the Ravens after their loss to Philadelphia painted things in an awkward light. For Hopkins, though, he has been trusted in key spots in Kansas City and is rewarding the Chiefs when necessary.
