After the Raiders traded Davante Adams to the Jets, he played right away. So, it’s fair to expect the possibility that Chiefs newest addition at receiver could be ready to go against the Raiders this Sunday.
DeAndre Hopkins may not be the elite receiver he once was, but he was a 1000-yard receiver just last season when the Titans had some decent QB play and now he joins the best QB in football with Patrick Mahomes, so he instantly becomes a threat the Raiders and every other one of the Chiefs’ opponents have to account for the remainder of the season.
Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce talked Wednesday about what he expects from Hopkins and the Chiefs Sunday.
“You kind of got to look at it twofold, right? We know they’re going to have some plays for him, get him in there and learn the playbook. But, to be honest, no disrespect to Hopkins, this offense still goes through 87 [Travis Kelce] and [Xavier] Worthy down the field vertically. So, I’m sure Andy [Reid] just as he’s done in years past when he’s made trades for certain players, he finds that role on those six or whatever many plays he has for that gentleman.
“You’re talking about a proven vet that’s been in multiple systems. It’s not going to take him a long time to learn it just to get him up to speed. Not quite sure what we’re going to get from there, but we know what their primary focus us.”
It’s true, the major threats among the receivers are Travis Kelce and Xavier Worthy. Kelce is stilling riding a string of nine straight Pro Bowls while Worthy is the team’s new speed burner deep threat. But Pierce knows it only takes a handful of plays from Hopkins for him to hurt the Raiders. And his addition give them one more thing on an already long list of things to worry about.