With DeAndre Hopkins officially in Kansas City, the Chiefs are excited to have him and undergo a quick onboarding process for Week 8’s game against the Raiders.
Tennessee Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (10) reacts to a missed catch late in the fourth quarter against the Houston Texans during their game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. / Denny Simmons / The
After relative radio silence from the team regarding DeAndre Hopkins on Wednesday, the Kansas City Chiefs officially have the All-Pro wideout in the building on Thursday. With Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders approaching, the reigning Super Bowl champs have a new weapon in the fold.
While Hopkins is on an accelerated timeline given his late-week arrival, the Chiefs are doing everything in their power to help him adjust quickly. Everyone is excited about the club’s trade for him, which should help the passing game in multiple areas.
The coaching staff, specifically, seems overjoyed to be able to work with a future Hall of Fame player. Speaking to the media on Thursday afternoon, offensive coordinator Matt Nagy alluded to this new partnership being best for both sides.
“It’s exciting, I think, for everybody,” Nagy said. “You get a guy who’s super experienced, he’s been in this league a long time. He’s had a lot of success. You look at both situations and I feel like it’s really a win-win type deal.”
When asked about what Hopkins brings to the table, Nagy praised his reliable hands and combination of experience and natural ability against various types of coverage. With several injuries currently impacting the receiver room, Nagy believes the biggest impact Hopkins makes will come during games as everyone learns to function together.
“I’d say, Adam (Teicher), the biggest thing right now is his hands are phenomenal,” Nagy said. “He has really, really good hands. I think he’s got some of the least amount of drops in the history of the NFL, but the experience that he has. What comes, I think, with that is trust. He’s played in a lot of games, he understands and he’s seen a bunch of different defenses. That’s valuable, whether it’s zone or man. He’s a really good route runner, he understands leverages.
“One of the things you see on tape, you see it in interviews but then when he’s here, up close and live and in-person, you see the confidence and the swagger he has. I think that confidence can really penetrate, and you feel that with the other players. You’ve got to go out and do it. We’re at the beginning stages, but he really does a lot of good things in zones, too.”
Nagy referenced several “first times” Hopkins will have to experience in his Kansas City tenure. Many of those – meetings, practice, getting to know teammates – are taking place over the next 24-plus hours. At age 32, however, Hopkins has experience in different environments and has seen and done just about everything in the NFL. There isn’t much that should prove to be a serious obstacle for him at this point but still, the Chiefs are trying to make the transition as seamless as possible.
Head coach Andy Reid seems interested in letting Hopkins play on Sunday. That’s easier said than done although if anyone can prepare, it’s a player like Hopkins. The trio of Reid, Nagy and wide receivers coach Connor Embree will undoubtedly spend plenty of time attempting to pave the way for it to happen. What will the next couple of days look like? All gas, no brakes.
“It’s definitely different, in a good way,” Nagy said. “There’s more to it. You have to. Again, like I said, [what] everybody always talks about is it’s a different language. It is, and that’s common, but these guys that go to different teams, they understand that [and] they know that. The professional side of it is making sure you put in the time outside of practice and outside of meetings to get there as fast as you can. To your point, this morning, all day, the rest of today, tomorrow on Friday and then all day Saturday, it’s nonstop as much as you can. That’s where Coach Connor will do a great job, and we want to get him up to speed.”