The Kansas City Chiefs‘ receiver room is looking about as promising as it’s been since the departure of Tyreek Hill back in 2022.
Rashee Rice was displaying true WR1 production before his season was cut short by a season-ending knee injury in Week 4; Xavier Worthy proved himself to a truly lethal playmaking vertical threat; and the team will also have access to fellow speedster, Hollywood Brown, who missed almost the entirety of 2024 with a shoulder problem.
However, one player they will have to make do without is former All-Pro receiver, DeAndre Hopkins, who is expected to sign with the Baltimore Ravens come the start of the new league year tomorrow.
This feeds into the “one or the other” narrative that many expected to be presented to KC with regards to re-signing either Hopkins or Brown, who just re-signed with the AFC champions on a contract reportedly worth up to $11 million.
Chiefs Choose Hollywood Brown Over Hopkins
Given Hopkins’ career pedigree and Brown’s recent injury, it would have seemed intuitive to re-sign Hopkins to a deal – one that ended up being around half the size ($6 million) – over “Hollywood”.
But like many things in the NFL – and indeed life – it all came down to age.
Brown is almost exactly five years Hopkins’ junior (two days off), and has significantly fewer miles tread. The former first round pick has played in 74 games; the equivalent of less than five full seasons in the league (given he missed the majority of 2024). That is less than half of the Hopkins’ total of 174 games, which comes out to around 11 full seasons.
Hopkins demonstrated that he can still be a strong, contributing member of a put-together offense, having managed 437 yards in 10 games for the Chiefs this past season. But given his advanced age – the former Houston Texan will turn 33 by the start of this upcoming season – the 5 x All-Pro’s trajectory is firmly pointing downward.
Did Kansas City Make The Correct Decision?
Choosing the player five years younger will rarely lead to firm criticism from fans or media members, but the contrast between the two contracts are intriguing.
For one, many would argue that Hollywood Brown is not worthy of a contract almost double that of Hopkins. Even when healthy, Brown has struggled to put up consistently strong numbers in any of the offenses he has played in. After being traded for a first round pick to the Cardinals in 2022, the Florida native put up just 1283 yards in two seasons before being bought on by KC last offseason.
Hopkins, on the other hand, has remained consistently productive on the field, with his only sub 1,000 yard seasons over the past eight years coming due to injury or suspension prior to 2024.
But 2024 was very much a down year for the former Clemson star; despite him sporting a clean bill of health for the entirety of the season; as he produced just 610 yards across games for both the Titans and the Chiefs.
The Chiefs evidently feel confident enough that Brown can return stronger than ever and contribute to their “deep speed” offensive configuration beside Xavier Worthy. With the enormous arm of Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City feel that Brown gives them a unique opportunity to get multiple rapid receivers downfield to make big plays in big moments. And perhaps he can.
