Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes Share What They've Learned About DeAndre Hopkins

With DeAndre Hopkins now in week two as a member of the Chiefs, Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes are optimistic about how his role will continue to expand.

Oct 27, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (8) catches the ball against Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Robert Spillane (41) in the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

After a bumpy start to the season, the Kansas City Chiefs' offense is attempting to keep righting the ship as players get healthy and newcomers gain confidence. Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is the latter, although no one would've been able to tell during his debut with the team in Week 8's win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

While the future Hall of Fame pass catcher had just two receptions and played on a pitch count of sorts, his impact went beyond the box score. Hopkins made several eye-popping plays that simply didn't go his way in the end result, but his process was exquisite. That impressed head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes last Sunday, and it appears that it will only continue moving forward.

Now over a week into Hopkins's Kansas City tenure, what has the team learned about him? Speaking to the media this week, Reid said the 32-year-old is taking everything in stride like the consummate professional. That should result in a bigger workload on Monday Night Football against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"He's really handled things the right way," Reid said. "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."

In the aforementioned Raiders game, Hopkins played 23 offensive snaps, good for 32% of those available. He was targeted three times in the passing game, and a corner route that Mahomes overthrew could've boosted his stats even more. He had a potential touchdown and a third-down conversion left on the field, too, further justifying the numbers not telling the entire story. Hopkins showcased his ability to find soft spots in coverage in Week 8, also winning in man-to-man situations with savvy technique.

Alongside tight end Travis Kelce, Hopkins gives the Chiefs two crafty veteran weapons on offense. Not only does that assist them in the red zone and on third downs, but it should alleviate traffic and attention for everyone else. Mahomes thinks the more Hopkins gets involved, the better the offense will be in all areas of the field.

"Yeah, 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," Mahomes said. "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."

To back Mahomes's observation, Hopkins remains a dangerous threat beyond the line of scrimmage. In the 2023 campaign, one that saw him go over the 1,000-yard mark, his target share was between 29-34% in the short (32.3%), medium (33.8%) and deep (29.3) areas of the field according to Pro Football Focus. Posting elite receiving grades in all three of those sections, he proved to be viable no matter where the play led him.

With speedy rookie Xavier Worthy in the lineup, Kansas City may not even need Hopkins to win vertically to help the deep passing game. If he does what he does best, that's enough for the back-to-back Super Bowl winners. Reid and Mahomes seem optimistic about his prospects moving forward, even with the onboarding process still being undertaken.

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