The Tennessee Titans have traded Pro-Bowl wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Kansas City Chiefs. Kansas City sent over a conditional 5th round pick, which can become a 4th round pick if Hopkins plays 60% of the snaps as a Chief, or if Kansas City reaches the Super Bowl. Tennessee will also be paying Hopkins $2.5 million.
The Titans signed Hopkins to a two-year, $26 million deal last offseason. The team has opted to trade the superstar wideout on the last year of his deal after a lackluster start to 2024.
Hopkins is the third Pro-Bowl wide receiver to be traded in the last two weeks, following Davante Adams and Amari Cooper being traded to AFC rivals last Tuesday.
But what are the implications of this trade? Are the Chiefs destined to three-peat? What about the Titans?
Impact for the Kansas City Chiefs
They may have a generational talent in Tight End Travis Kelce, and arguably the best quarterback in the league in Patrick Mahomes, but Kansas City still needed help on offense.
The team had been rumored to be trading for a superstar wide receiver ever since trading Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins in 2022. Since the trade, Mahomes’ game has been dramatically different. The Chiefs went from having the most explosive offense that succeeded with big plays, to an efficient offense relying on a short passing game, running the ball, and having a strong defense. Despite winning two straight Super Bowls since Hill’s departure, it’s hard to say this offensive identity shift has helped. Most notably, Mahomes has declined from putting up 5,000 yard and 50 touchdown seasons, to having 6 touchdowns and 8 interceptions so far through 2024.
The receiving core has been a huge part of that. Since Hill got traded, Rashee Rice has been the team’s best wide receiver by far. Outside of Kelce and Rice, Mahomes hasn’t had a reliable supporting cast around him. He’s had to distribute the ball to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore, Kadarius Toney, and JuJu Smith-Schuster, whom have all underwhelmed while on the team.
In fact, Toney and Valdes-Scantling are no longer on the Chiefs, and Smith-Schuster was released before being brought back due to Kansas City’s injuries to the wide receiver position.
The Chiefs brought in Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown this offseason to sure up the receiving core. He’s yet to play a snap this season due to a shoulder injury, and is most likely out for the season. Rashee Rice injured his PCL in week five against the Chargers, ending his season. And while serviceable, rookie 1st rounder Xavier Worthy can’t carry the burden on his own.
In comes DeAndre Hopkins. The five-time Pro Bowler has logged over 900 catches, over 12,000 yards, and nearly 170 games played over his NFL career. He is well known for his amazing catch radius, jump ball abilities, and sneaky athleticism. Hopkins not only brings veteran leadership to a depleted receiver room but is also a great compliment to the route running of Kelce, and record-breaking speed of Worthy.
It’s safe to say that the Chiefs offense will be much improved over the rest of the season thanks to Hopkins. It’s no longer a stretch to say that the Chiefs can challenge the Ravens for the AFC crown, or even go undefeated the rest of the way with this new offensive firepower. This trade makes the Chiefs the team to beat in the AFC.
Impact for the Tennessee Titans
The Titans are rebuilding, that much is clear. Their season was decided from the first offensive snap, when Will Levis was under center.
Levis was a highly touted draft prospect coming out of Kentucky but slid into the second round before being drafted by Tennessee. His arm talent was second to none, but some development in his fundamentals would be crucial to NFL success.
His career hasn’t panned out so far. Levis has been unable to make a read at the NFL level. He threw two interceptions in his first game of the season, including a pick six, against the Chicago Bears. Tennessee would lose that game, despite Chicago not scoring a single offensive touchdown. Levis has continued to struggle, with the 2nd worst QBR among eligible quarterbacks in the league, and being tied for 2nd most interceptions in the league.
Since then, the Titans have only managed one win, a game where Levis injured his shoulder in the first quarter and was replaced by backup Mason Rudolph. First-year head coach Brian Callahan has had to lean heavily on the run to get any sort of offensive production, which has limited the amount of touches going Hopkins’ way.
The Titans also have disgruntled wide receiver Calvin Ridley under contract for the next 4 seasons. Ridley has been vocal about not having enough touches in this offense. This trade benefits both star receivers. Hopkins, the veteran, gets a chance at a fresh start and an elusive Super Bowl to add to his already impressive resumé. Ridley gets an opportunity to be the focal point of the Titans passing attack, whether it’s Levis or Rudolph at the helm.
So, the Titans were able to remove a potential headache of having two uber-talented wide receivers in a low volume passing offense and gain some draft capital to help aid the team’s daunting rebuild. Whether this trade will help the team won’t be known until further down the line, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction.
