If Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes were optimistic about chasing a third consecutive Super Bowl win with the Kansas City Chiefs, getting DeAndre Hopkins before the 2024 NFL trade deadline only boosted those expectations.
The star wide receiver is the kind of weapon both Reid and Mahomes needed after an injury-marred start of the year for the Chiefs. But of course, there’s still a long way to go in the 2024 NFL season.
Despite a promising start, Reid knows the team has yet to see how much it can really get from Hopkins. According to the Chiefs head coach, Mahomes should rely on D-Hop for contested catches.
“He’s great with the contested balls, that’s what he’s great with,” Reid said about Hopkins, via Sports Illustrated. “So if you get it in – he has long arms and big hands and if you get it in that radius, you’re pretty sure he’s going to get that. We’ve had good receivers here and we have good receivers here, but that’s his strength right there.”
Mahomes agrees with Reid on Hopkins’ strength
Reid’s message was clear, but fortunately, his quarterback is already aligned with the coach on what is Hopkins‘ biggest strength. Just like Reid, the Chiefs quarterback praised the wideout’s ability on one-on-one situations.
“I think just the ability to win one-on-one is special,” Mahomes said. “I mean, that truly is special and sometimes it gets lost because whenever you’ve got a guy on the boundary that’s one-on-one with and he was winning some of those matchups.“
Mahomes vows to give Hopkins more chances
Hopkins made a splash in the NFL before arriving in Kansas City, which is why the expectations are sky-high now that he’s with the defending Super Bowl champions. Mahomes, however, vows to give Hopkins more opportunities to make big plays.
“He’s really kind of showcasing that he can win one-on-one versus anybody. That’s stuff that puts pressure on the defense when I’m hitting those guys in those one-on-one matchups and making them push guys over which is opening up everybody else. So that, as well as being able to make tough and contested catches like the deep cross he had over the middle of the field. That’s stuff that just, in my mind, shows me that I need to give him more and more chances in those situations,” Mahomes said.