Chiefs offense coaches praise DeAndre Hopkins’ veteran presence

Will the new wideout open up Kansas City’s offense?

Last week, the Kansas City Chiefs acquired wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins — currently with the 23rd-highest career receiving yardage in NFL history — in a midseason trade with the Tennessee Titans. The veteran caught two passes for 29 yards in his Chiefs debut in Week 8 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

On Friday, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and passing game coordinator Joe Bleymaier discussed early impressions of the wideout before practice.

“Probably the biggest thing for me I’m impressed with,” said Nagy, “[is] just his ability to pick up the offense. He’s done a great job. [He] came in last week and wanted to do as much as he possibly could. We knew we had to keep a little bit of an eye on how much we can give him on somewhat of a short week, but he’s been great. [I] love his attitude; [he’s] super smart — really football [smart]. Obviously, the football part on the field within the plays is easy for him because he’s played so much, [but] just taking what we do and implementing it into that is where I think he’s excelled.”

Bleymaier noted Hopkins has taken a similar approach to training camp in integrating with his new team.

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“He wants to come in and do what he’s done his whole career,” the coach observed. “So, he puts a lot of pressure on himself. Just that intensity — it’s almost that excitement level when training camp first starts, and the guys are new to the system and really eager to learn. He’s brought that, [and] it’s kind of a rebirth for everybody being around him.”

While Hopkins is still fully learning Kansas City’s offense, Bleymaier believes that the coaching staff can learn from the player at the same time — and a potential future Hall of Famer has much to offer Kansas City’s young weapons.

“I mean, I’m really in just the listening mode with him,” Bleymaier explained. “Everybody’s pouring into him, how we do things, what we do, here’s what you got to know for the game. I’m really listening to how he does what he does and how defenses have played him over the years...Those little nuances that the veterans have from having done it for so long — it’s one thing for the coaches to say it, and then it just resonates 10 times when they hear from somebody they’ve looked up to, especially generationally like [Hopkins].”

One of those receivers now learning from Hopkins is rookie speedster Xavier Worthy. Nagy believes Hopkins’ presence following a season-ending injury to second-year pro Rashee Rice will open more deep routes for the rookie.

“I think it all works together,” remarked Nagy. “If you have just deep threat guys, you know that then teams know that. If you have guys that are just underneath teams know that. So, being able to kind of do different things with those guys, it, it allows us to be more flexible conceptually in what we do.”

While advanced analytics see the Chiefs’ efficiency on offense in a positive light, the squad is not passing the eye test for many fans as default big plays to tight end Travis Kelce are seemingly replaced by routine rushes by running back Kareem Hunt. Hopkins’ presence is unlikely to drastically change the approach that has seen a 7-0 start to the season.

“I know we kind of started off this year,” Nagy recalled, “with the whole ‘shot’ thing and Kelce not getting open and different ways of trying to figure out the identity of this offense. I think we’re sort of coming into one here with the amount of carries that [Hunt is] getting.

“There’s not necessarily a ton of explosive [plays] per se, but one thing it’s doing is it’s allowing us to stay ahead of the sticks on third down...We’re able to be efficient and not getting into third and long. I think it all kind of ties together. We had a couple long drives last week with a 19-play and a 13-play. So, it’s been good for us.”

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Bleymaier does not see the adjustments needed due to absence of Rice and fellow wide receiver Hollywood Brown as drastically different from challenges the Chiefs have faced in previous season.

“It’s a similar challenge every year,” he declared, “just trying to move the ball and score points against the defenses. Then, keep progressing as an offense and growing each of the guys. So, early in the season — when you kind of have visions that are growing Rashee and Hollywood and how they can kind of flourish in this offense and then you lose them — it just kind of shifts to the next guy up.

“I don’t know that it’s been like a drastic change for how we operate, but just ‘All right, these are the guys that we have now, how can we best utilize them and try to score points?’ That’s really been the main focus.”

Nagy understands the expectations on offense the Chiefs have recently set but also defended the current approach, given the talent on the other side of the ball in Kansas City.

“We all understand the importance of being able to have the fireworks and the big plays et cetera,” he acknowledged. “We want that. But right now, there’s a little bit of a recipe on how things are going — and we’re winning.

“At the same time, we want to lock in on ball security...We’ve got a phenomenal defense...All that goes together. Now we go out now and just try to put up points, and I think when you do that and when you win and all those scoring and great defense comes together, it’s magical. So, we want to try to get to that.”