NFL Rumors: DeAndre Hopkins Could Have ‘Small Menu’ of Plays in Chiefs Debut | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

Wide Receiver DeAndre Hopkins will reportedly make his Kansas City Chiefs debut on Sunday, albeit in a somewhat limited capacity.

According to ESPN, Hopkins may have a “small menu of plays” available to him on Sunday, as the Chiefs only officially acquired him in a trade with the Tennessee Titans on Thursday.

But considering that wideouts Rashee Rice, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Hollywood Brown and Skyy Moore are all injured, it would behoove the Chiefs to have a wide receiver of Hopkins’ caliber in the mix, even if he only plays sparingly .

Kansas City sent the Titans a conditional fifth-round pick for 2025, which could become a fourth-rounder if the Chiefs reach the Super Bowl and Hopkins plays at least 60 percent of the Chiefs’ offensive snaps going forward.

It was a relatively small price to pay for a veteran receiver who has five Pro Bowl nods and three First Team All-Pro selections to his name over twelve NFL seasons with the Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals and Titans.

Over his career, Hopkins has caught 943 passes for 12,528 yards and 79 touchdowns. He also has seven 1,000-yard seasons, including last season when he had 75 grabs for 1,057 yards and seven scores as then-rookie quarterback Will Levis’ No. 1 target.

However, Hopkins’ production through his first six games this season with the Titans was modest, as he recorded just 15 receptions for 173 yards and one touchdown.

In Kansas City, Hopkins joins forces with one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time in three-time Super Bowl winner Patrick Mahomes.

Although Mahomes wanted to become the quarterback of the first-ever franchise to win three consecutive Super Bowls this season, his play left much to be desired.

Even with the Chiefs as the last remaining undefeated team with a 6-0 record, Mahomes has thrown for a league-high 1,389 yards, six touchdowns and eight interceptions, meaning he’s on track for the worst season of his Hall of Fame -career. significant margin.

That’s not entirely Mahomes’ fault, as he lost his projected top two wide receivers for the rest of the season in Rice and Brown. Additionally, future Hall of Famer Travis Kelce is having a down year with 28 catches for 245 yards and no touchdowns.

It’s entirely possible that Hopkins’ best days are behind him, but considering the Chiefs’ best healthy wide receiver right now is rookie first-round pick Xavier Worthy, who is among the fastest players in the league, D-Hop could be the ideal player. complement his route-running ability.

Hopkins believes he can play a major role in whether the Chiefs can become three-time Super Bowl champions this season, and his first chance to show what he can do is Sunday on the road against the Las Vegas Raiders.