Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes React to Chiefs Debut for DeAndre Hopkins

Despite being with the Chiefs for just a few days, DeAndre Hopkins made his presence felt in Sunday's win over the Raiders.

Oct 27, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (8) gestures after a first down against the Las Vegas Raiders in the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

In the Kansas City Chiefs' Week 8 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, multiple players on the offensive side of the ball managed to stand out. All eyes were on veteran wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, though, following this week's trade with the Tennessee Titans.

Following Sunday's victory, head coach Andy Reid admitted that Hopkins played "about" the number of snaps he had in mind entering the game. He also provided his initial thoughts on the All-Pro wideout's debut with Kansas City.

"Yeah, listen, I thought it was good," Reid said. "He wanted to be in there, which is a positive and I understand. He'll get more chances the next game."

From a pure box score standpoint, Hopkins didn't do anything crazy at Allegiant Stadium. He hauled in a pair of passes for the reigning Super Bowl champions and amassed 29 yards – a figure that trailed four other Chiefs on the afternoon. It wasn't a spectacular game by any means, especially for someone of that caliber. A look beyond the surface, however, reflects someone who made a more profound impact.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes had a front-row seat to Hopkins's debut, and he thinks there were plenty of positives to draw from.

"I thought he did a great job," Mahomes said. "Obviously [on] third down, he had the big catch early in the game and then he had a couple of other big plays. I missed him on the one corner route early, but [he] still got open. And then as I looked back at the tablet, there were a couple of times where in man coverage, he was just really working and winning. Even the touchdown to Trav (Travis Kelce) I threw, if you look back on his side, he's open too for a touchdown there. Now that you see that – obviously, I know the type of player he is – but you see that on the field, it shows that if they're going to play man coverage against him, he's going to get open. I have to give him chances to go out there and make plays."

One play from Hopkins, specifically, jumped out to Mahomes: a third-and-7 on the Chiefs' opening drive. Hopkins settled into a soft spot in the Raiders' coverage past the sticks and gained 13 yards, which helped preserve a possession that ended in a touchdown. Mahomes didn't hold back when comparing this style of conversion to that of JuJu Smith-Schuster or even Kelce.

"Honestly, it's high-level stuff," Mahomes said. "Just because it was zone coverage, they kind of were in the right spot, he pulled up in the right window, stuff you see Trav do a lot [and] you see JuJu do a lot. I was able to throw the ball and I've kind of talked about it a little bit, he has good body language when he runs routes so you can kind of tell what he's going to do before he does it. We had only practiced that play I think once, maybe twice. For third down in that situation, for him to run it and be in the right position, it shows that he's going to fit in perfectly in this offense."

Factoring in what could've been – perhaps Kelce's touchdown goes to Hopkins or Mahomes doesn't overthrow him on the aforementioned corner concept – looking at just the numbers doesn't do Week 8 enough justice. On a pitch count of sorts, Hopkins made the most of his playing time. Considering that his opportunities will do nothing but expand in the coming weeks, both he and the Chiefs should be encouraged.

Read More: Four Takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs' 27-20 Win Over the Las Vegas Raiders