Fantasy Fallout: Chiefs acquire DeAndre Hopkins

The Fantasy Implications of the Chiefs Acquiring DeAndre Hopkins

On Wednesday morning, the Kansas City Chiefs finally made a move for a receiver. JuJu Smith-Schuster’s hamstring injury seemed to be the final straw for a team that, during parts of their Sunday win against the 49ers, found themselves running a three-wide receiver setup featuring Xavier Worthy, Justin Watson, and Skyy Moore. Their leading receiver that game was Noah Gray – the only player with more than 22 receiving yards – while Mecole Hardman was also heavily involved. Enough was enough. hacker gcash

The burning question, hinted at by The Athletic’s Nate Taylor in an article yesterday, was who the new receiver would be. The answer came when the Chiefs acquired reliable veteran DeAndre Hopkins, who was sidelined during portions of Sunday’s loss to the Colts due to “lower leg soreness,” but it seems this might clear up before their game against the Raiders . The Chiefs gave up just a fifth-round pick, which could turn into a fourth-round pick depending on certain conditions. It appears they wanted to make a move, but not to dive into the deep end just yet.

Does DeAndre Hopkins Immediately Become Kansas City’s No. 1 Receiver?

Probably not. You’d have to consider that Travis Kelce’s established rapport might give him an edge over Hopkins in fantasy terms. Hopkins, who spent most of training camp dealing with an MCL injury, finally looked more like himself in Week 3, catching 6 out of 7 targets for 73 yards and a touchdown. trophy in tagalog At 32, Hopkins isn’t going to bring anything to the Chiefs that they don’t already have with Kelce. Instead, he will likely replicate that skill set and mainly take over the role of Smith-Schuster. This isn’t necessarily a negative for Hopkins – after all, Smith-Schuster went for 7 catches and 130 yards in his last healthy start against the Saints on Monday – but it does suggest there will be games when it’s a Kelce-centric day versus days where it’s all about Hopkins.

To be clear, this move undoubtedly places Hopkins back on the fantasy radar: he’s a WR3/FLEX option again. However, it might be a stretch to expect him to suddenly become more than that at his age, even if I believe the Will Levis/Brian Callahan offense has significantly raised any chance of him showcasing his skills in his limited appearances this season.

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How Quickly Can Hopkins Get Used to Playing with Patrick Mahomes?

This is the crucial question. Last week’s trade involving Davante Adams had a player reconnecting with a former teammate. pambansang kamao ng pilipinas While Mahomes and Hopkins may have worked together during the Pro Bowl in 2018, they lack that natural chemistry. That said, it doesn’t mean they can’t gel quickly. Hopkins is an exceptionally sharp player and has adapted to various offensive systems over the last four years. Although Andy Reid and Matt Nagy might have more short misdirection plays than most teams, it probably won’t be drastically different from what Bill O’Brien and Kliff Kingsbury had Hopkins doing, so he shouldn’t feel out of place.

In my opinion, it might take a week or two before we truly see what Hopkins can contribute in this offense. I wouldn’t rush to start him against the Raiders, but I think he’s worth keeping on the bench this week.

The Fantasy Losers of This Trade: Xavier Worthy and Travis Kelce

The issue with Xavier Worthy, and the reason he hasn’t been converting opportunities into significant fantasy points yet, is that he is currently struggling against press coverage. However, this trade may slightly benefit him as he will likely draw less defensive attention. Still, we must acknowledge that it completely eliminates any possibility of a scenario where he becomes the main receiver and can’t be stopped. He’s still rosterable but is more of a WR4 until we see some consistent target shares.

As for Kelce, this trade impacts his route tree and the areas of the field he dominates. While Hopkins can succeed on the outside, he’s most lethal on in-breaking routes over the middle—just like Kelce. He remains a TE1 in this landscape filled with a lack of reliable TE1s outside of PPR strategies, but it’s not as exciting of a situation as it once was.

Skyy Moore would also be a loser in this trade if I believed there was a chance he could step up, but I’ve watched a lot of him over the past three years, and so have the Chiefs.

The Fantasy Winners of This Trade: Most Likely Just DeAndre Hopkins

The target vacuum left by Hopkins in Tennessee isn’t filled with high-quality fantasy options at this moment. Calvin Ridley might still be on the fantasy radar due to the sheer volume of targets he’s receiving, but it may only provide a slight uptick in his production. He has turned his last 17 targets into just three catches for 42 yards, which illustrates the situation at hand. Tyler Boyd and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine are likely to be the other wide receivers in Tennessee’s three-wide sets. If you’re enthused about Tyler Boyd’s prospects without Hopkins, I hope your 20-team, 3-FLEX league is treating you well.

Perhaps Will Levis recovers from his AC joint sprain faster than expected, which could lead to Ridley seeing better targets down the line. Until we witness either of those changes transpire, it’s hard to regard anyone other than Hopkins as a fantasy winner in this trade.

What are your thoughts on the impact of DeAndre Hopkins’ acquisition on fantasy football?