With injuries haunting the offense from preseason, the Kansas City Chiefs made a big move to help Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes in the 2024 NFL season by landing star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Recently, tight end Travis Kelce shared his thoughts on his new teammate.
“It’s awesome, man,” Kelce said on his ‘New Heights’ podcast with his brother Jason, via Chiefs Wire. “Having D-Hop in the building, have another vet, a guy, he’s such a, I call him ‘Swag Champ’ when you get a vet into the building, and he juices everybody’s confidence up. He juices everybody, like the aura and the fun that you have in the building and just going to work. He’s just another guy that you can always rely on to show up and put in the work, but enjoy what he’s doing and try and have some fun with it. Man, he’s been awesome stepping up and stepping into the building.”
D-Hop joined the Chiefs via trade from the Tennessee Titans before Week 8 of the 2024 NFL season. The wideout debuted with two receptions for 29 yards in the 27-20 win over division rivals Las Vegas Raiders, in a game where Kelce went off with 10 catches for 90 yards and a touchdown.
The tight end, however, was impressed with how fast Hopkins settled: “He had two days, Thursday and Friday during practice, to get timing with Pat and in the offense to try and kind of get into the routine, everything with coach Reid’s way of doing things. He’s just professional, just a professional guy. He came in asking questions, trying to get caught up as fast as possible. And sure enough, we got him in the building, and I think the first third down we had, we went right to him, baby. Yeah, right to him. And he’s right on time, man.”
DeAndre Hopkins #8 of the Kansas City Chiefs looks on prior to a game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on October 27, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Hopkins has joined the Chiefs to bolster a wide receiver room hit by multiple injuries. The 32-year-old and Kelce (35) are the most experienced pass catchers Mahomes can count on.
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Reid echoes Kelce’s sentiment on DeAndre Hopkins’ Chiefs debut
D-Hop not only impressed Kelce on his Chiefs debut. The veteran wide receiver’s outing also satisfied both the coach and quarterback’s expectations, with Reid promising Hopkins he’ll get more involved next game.
“He’s really handled things the right way,” Reid said of the wideout. “Been really diligent on studying and asking questions, staying late, coming in early, the whole deal there. His role will continue to increase this week. We’re comfortable with that, and I think he’s comfortable with it.”
This shouldn’t be a threat to Kelce though. The veteran tight end is coming off his best performance of the season, and is expected to continue being targeted by Mahomes. In fact, Reid recently sent Kelce a clear message, warning the rest of the league about his player’s talent.
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Speaking to the press, Mahomes also praised his new weapon: “I think whenever you’re able to put him in there, obviously we’re going to be able to hit some throws down the field. I think hitting him kind of over that medium to long range is going to open up other guys down the field and take pressure off other guys as far as eyes and coverage. Whenever you’ve got, really, two guys when you talk about DeAndre and Trav that are all kind of working in that medium-type range in the football field, it opens up the deeper throws because teams have to account for that.”
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Kansas City returns to action on ‘Monday Night Football’ against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so Hopkins will be on the national spotlight in his second game with the Chiefs.
