The Kansas City Chiefs welcomed a new playmaker to their offense on Wednesday, acquiring five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Tennessee Titans. It marks the third high-profile deal for a pass catcher during the 2024 NFL season, after the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets recently landed starting wideouts via trade, and gives much-needed veteran insurance to an injury-tested Chiefs group.
Just how much of a difference-maker could Hopkins be for the reigning Super Bowl champions? Here's where we'd rank him among the top weapons of quarterback Patrick Mahomes' career:
12. RB Jerick McKinnon
Seasons: 2021-2023
The shifty veteran was never the featured ball-carrier of Andy Reid's backfield, but he played a supremely underrated role as a pass catcher during the club's 2022 Super Bowl run, totaling more than 40 first downs while logging more than 60 catches (including the postseason) as a go-to dump-off for Mahomes.
11. WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Seasons: 2022-2023
"MVS" was a true boom-or-bust option, barely securing a 50% catch rate in two seasons with the team, but his deep speed kept defenses honest in 2022, when he averaged 16.4 yards per catch, and he caught one of Mahomes' two touchdown passes in Super Bowl LVIII, contributing to back-to-back titles.
10. WR Xavier Worthy
Seasons: 2024-present
Worthy is obviously something of a projection, given he's only played six NFL games. The 21-year-old rookie has repeatedly flashed All-Pro speed as a gadget runner and deep threat, however, averaging more than 11 yards per touch and scoring four times. If paired with sturdier partners, he should only improve.
9. WR Sammy Watkins
Seasons: 2018-2020
Like other speedsters in this crop, Watkins wasn't always reliable; in fact, he missed a combined 14 games due to injury over three years. His tantalizing first-round dynamism gave Mahomes an occasional big-play outlet, however, and he showed up in Super Bowl LIV with 98 yards against the San Francisco 49ers.
8. WR Mecole Hardman
Seasons: 2019-2022, 2023-present
In two different stints with the Chiefs, the quick-twitch Hardman has always been best-suited for limited action. Yet the fact he's made it two stints, and been with Mahomes for almost his entire career as a starter, speaks to his value as a utility man. He's up over 4,000 all-purpose yards for his career.
7. WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
Seasons: 2022, 2024-present
Ever since the latter days of his Pittsburgh Steelers tenure, Smith-Schuster has been far more solid than spectacular, fighting bumps and bruises along the way. But he approached 1,000 yards as a chain-moving safety valve for Mahomes in 2022's Super Bowl run, and then started 2024 with similar production.
6. RB Kareem Hunt
Seasons: 2018, 2024-present
He's a curious case, because he was just 23, emerging as one of the NFL's top multipurpose backs, when the Chiefs cut him late in 2018 due to off-field transgressions. He obviously aided Mahomes' first year as a starter, though, and has been surprisingly durable as an older emergency workhorse in 2024.
5. WR DeAndre Hopkins
Seasons: 2024-present
The newest addition to the group, Hopkins is no spring chicken, playing through knee pain at 32. He's probably more good than great at this point. Still, that can go a long way with Mahomes. A seven-time 1,000-yard receiver, his savvy route-running and proven hands could come up big down the stretch.
4. RB Isiah Pacheco
Seasons: 2023-present
We talk so much about Mahomes' wideouts, and yet the hard-nosed Pacheco has arguably been the steadiest offensive catalyst for the Chiefs' last two title runs, totaling 2,000+ scrimmage yards -- all of them gained with a punishing style -- to let K.C. control the clock and also trust Steve Spagnuolo's defense.
3. WR Rashee Rice
Seasons: 2023-present
It's a shame Rice went down so early in 2024 with a knee injury, because he was on a fast trajectory to become maybe the most complete receiver Mahomes has ever had. Reliable as a rookie with close to 1,000 yards, he exploded out of the gate to open this year, securing more than 80% of his targets.
2. WR Tyreek Hill
Seasons: 2017-2021
A home run waiting to happen, Hill was synonymous with the NFL's introduction to Mahomes, giving the Chiefs one of the most explosive deep-ball trackers in the game. K.C. won "only" one Super Bowl during his tenure, but he was almost never guardable when healthy, eclipsing 1,200 yards three times.
1. TE Travis Kelce
Seasons: 2017-present
Mr. Reliable, Kelce may finally be slowing down at 35, but no one has matched his durability as the go-to option for Mahomes when it matters most. What he's lacked in eye-popping speed he's often offset with an innate ability to find open space and stay on the same page as his quarterback -- all to the tune of more than 900 career catches, more than 11,500 career receiving yards, and three Lombardi Trophies.
