When the Kansas City Chiefs traded for veteran wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, they sent the Tennessee Titans a conditional draft pick in return. On January 7, Spotrac co-founder and NFL cap expert Michael Ginnitti revealed the outcome of the Hopkins trade on X.
“DeAndre Hopkins saw less than 50% of regular season snaps in 2024, meaning the Chiefs will send the Titans a 2025 5th round pick (instead of a potential 4th),” Ginnitti informed.
He added that “Hopkins needed to post 60% regular season snaps to vest the conditional 4th Rd pick” in 2025.
Needless to say, Chiefs fans and media members were quite pleased by this announcement, crediting KC for achieving a 15-2 record while also keeping Hopkins’ snap share under 60%.
“Chess not checkers,” KSHB 41 beat reporter Nick Jacobs reacted on X, as several others posted GIFs of general manager Brett Veach and head coach Andy Reid in celebration.
One fan even labeled this another “Chiefs MASTERCLASS.” While another joked that “the [Dallas] Cowboys gave up a higher draft pick for Jonathan Mingo (5 rec in 8 games) than the Chiefs did for [Hopkins].”
“[The] Titans got worked over by KC when you factor in the [L’Jarius] Sneed trade,” popular fan account ‘how bout those CHIEFS’ weighed in.
FOX 4 KC reporter Harold Kuntz expounded on that point too, reminding that “[the Hopkins outcome] matched with the back-to-back late 2nd/early 3rd picks [from the Sneed deal] thanks to the Titans finishing with the #1 overall pick.”
Ironically, the Titans elected to part ways with general manager Ran Carthon on January 7 after just two years on the job. While these trades were surely not the only reasons for the firing, they might have factored into Tennessee’s eventual decision.
Chiefs Could Increase DeAndre Hopkins’ Workload Throughout NFL Playoffs
As fans pointed out on social media, the Chiefs are now free to utilize Hopkins as much as they desire.
And while it’s true that the Kansas City WR corps is more crowded than it’s been in a while with Hollywood Brown back and Mecole Hardman returning, it feels reasonable to assume that Hopkins will receive an uptick in his workload throughout the playoffs.
According to Pro Football Focus, Hopkins was on the field for less than 25 offensive snaps in three out of the past four games — if you include Week 18 when the starters were rested. That’s on par with the recent workload of depth wideouts like JuJu Smith-Schuster and Justin Watson.
The one recent outing where Hopkins played over 25 snaps was Week 16 against the Houston Texans — which was a competitive primetime matchup versus a playoff team. Then during blowout victories over the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, Hopkins was rested.
If that trend holds true in the playoffs, expect Hopkins to get somewhere around 32-35 offensive snaps per outing. Up from his more recent snap average in the low-to-mid 20s.
Chiefs Can Finally Operate as They Planned at Wide Receiver
Aside from Rashee Rice, the Chiefs are finally up near full strength at wide receiver. And with veterans Hopkins and Smith-Schuster spelling Rice’s role while he recovers from injury, one could argue that KC can now operate the offense as they originally planned ahead of the 2024 campaign.
At that time, this unit was supposed to feature Rice, Brown and rookie Xavier Worthy, along with veterans like Hardman and Watson filling in the gaps. In the playoffs, that starting trio will likely change to Hopkins, Brown and Worthy — assuming Hollywood is up for a larger role.
Brown has yet to play 20-plus offensive snaps since returning from injury, but he’ll have had two full weeks of rest by the time the Chiefs take the field for the divisional round. That should provide enough time for the key WR to up his workload, similar to Hopkins.
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Chiefs Praised After Rewarding Trade Update: ‘Chess Not Checkers’