KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- DeAndre Hopkins had been around the league a while, with the Kansas City Chiefs being his fourth team in 12 NFL seasons. But in a way, Hopkins felt like a rookie when he arrived via trade midseason.
Suddenly, he was teamed with Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, Andy Reid and others and never before felt the weight of expectations that came with it. At age 32, with the realization of his football mortality starting to set in, this situation was exactly what Hopkins wanted.
"They're coming off a championship -- two championships -- so it feels a lot different than anywhere I've been,'' said Hopkins, who made the playoffs earlier in his career with the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals. The farthest either team reached was the divisional round.
"Everything everybody does here, not just in this facility but outside the facility, is detailed, and that's how you win championships," he added. "It means a lot. It takes your game to a different level. It takes your focus, your drive, knowing that you're playing for something.''
Hopkins isn't the prolific receiver with the Chiefs that he was earlier in his career. In the 10 games since his arrival, Hopkins has 41 catches for 437 yards and four touchdowns.
But he still helped the Chiefs reach a 15-2 record, a ninth-straight AFC West championship and the AFC's No. 1 playoff seed.
"You didn't know what to expect as far as the player on and off the field,'' Mahomes said. "But he gets in the room and he's a leader from Day 1. He's teaching younger guys, he's helping younger guys in the room about stuff that he's learned. Then you get on the practice field and you see how explosive he still is and how he can still make these plays, and he can go one-on-one with the best of the best and win.
"It was definitely a pleasant surprise for me just seeing him on the football field. I think I can even give him more and more chances as it goes on because he seems like he's making plays every time I do."
The intensity of the situation only increases from here. The Chiefs begin their 2024 playoffs on Saturday against the Texans at Arrowhead Stadium (4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC/ESPN+).
That's what Hopkins wanted at this point of his career. He was so happy after the October trade from Tennessee that he made a point to thank Titans general manager Ran Carthon afterward for sending him to the Chiefs instead of a team that wouldn't contend.
"I haven't played meaningful football in a couple years since we probably started [7-0] in Arizona [in 2021], so it takes a game to a different level,'' Hopkins said. "I've done a lot, all the accolades that I can accomplish as far as personal, so I think just playing meaningful football in January is what's left on the list.''
IT TOOK SOME time for it to happen, but Hopkins playing for the Chiefs seemed destined. The Chiefs had chased Hopkins for a while. They talked with the Cardinals at one time about a trade. They pursued him later when he was a free agent, but he opted instead for the Titans.
The courtship culminated two years ago when Hopkins ran across Chris Jones at an event in Miami. Their conversation came around to what things might be like if Hopkins played in Kansas City.
"We both agreed that he'd be super successful with this offense,'' Jones said. "[There were] a lot of things going on and unfortunately we weren't able to acquire him at the time. But how life works, it's full circle. And unfortunately with injuries, we needed a wide receiver.''
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach was among those who thought Hopkins was bound for Kansas City. That was particularly true when Hopkins was a free agent two years ago.
The Chiefs had lost JuJu Smith-Schuster, their leading wide receiver, in 2022 and receiver Mecole Hardman to free agency (both players later returned). They needed someone to lead a group of wideouts that, at the time, included Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Justin Watson, Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore.
"We were right there at the end and Tennessee just got to a place that we couldn't do money-wise,'' Veach said. "He went to Tennessee but if we had the means to [sign him] I think he would have come here.''
After injuries to wide receivers Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown, the Chiefs finally made it happen this season, bringing in Brown and sending a fifth-round draft pick to the Titans that becomes a fourth if the Chiefs reach the Super Bowl.
WHEN THE CHIEFS traded for Hopkins, they were looking for a veteran to stabilize their group of wide receivers. At the time, Smith-Schuster was out with an injury -- along with Brown and Rice -- though he returned to the lineup in November.
In Hopkins, they found someone willing to lead a group that includes promising rookie and first-round draft pick Xavier Worthy. They watched as Hopkins became the leader in receiving drills his first day at practice, a time when many veterans defer to those who had been with the team for a longer time.
"We've had players we acquired at midseason and usually the first practice is a feeling-out process,'' Veach said. "We get DeAndre and the first practice he hops right in line, the front of the line. I'm sure that's what he's done his whole career, but I think that's important when you come to a team with a young group.
"You never really know when you bring a guy in midway through the season. I think [Hopkins] had a lot of confidence just because of the career he's had and the experience he's had. ... He has a confident way about him.''
Hopkins is accustomed to being his quarterback's favorite target. He led his team in receptions in seven of his first 11 NFL seasons. The exceptions were his first two seasons in the league. With the Texans, he finished behind Hall of Fame wide receiver Andre Johnson, and with the Cardinals, he missed several games with injuries.
Hopkins has never played for a team built like the Chiefs. One tight end, Kelce, was their leading receiver, while another, Noah Gray, was second on the team in touchdown catches. Worthy is their third leading wide receiver since the Chiefs traded Tyreek Hill three years ago (Smith-Schuster led in 2022 and Rice led in 2023).
He had to be willing to accept a lesser role than he has had for most of his career. No demanding the ball, no unhappiness when it goes to a different receiver.
"He really hasn't been that way,'' offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. "There'll be some things that he sees throughout the game, and he'll come to you and voice it like, 'Hey, I see this.' I love that. I know Coach Reid does, too. On his end of it, he's got to understand too, 'Okay, we've got you.'
"He's been great with responding to us telling him that, and I don't think that that should change. He's played a lot of reps. He's seen a lot of things.''
Hopkins' credentials for eventual inclusion in the Pro Football Hall of Fame already seem set. He's 16th all-time in pass receptions (984), 21st in yardage (12,965).
Helping the Chiefs win a third straight Super Bowl would only strengthen his legacy. That's why the Chiefs traded for him and why he thanked the Titans for sending him to Kansas City.
But he seemed to enjoy the ride along the way.
"Throughout my career, I've been a big fan of what Andy has done,'' Hopkins said. "Going against those guys in Houston, they gave us some tough battles, so I always just admired him from afar. I haven't been here long, but Coach Reid has definitely pushed me as a player. He's always watching everything that you do and you want to go out and be perfect. You'll not be perfect but you want to try your best. There's a standard that he has and you feel it in the locker room.
"I'm grateful to be here. I'm still taking it in.''