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The Kansas City Chiefs kicked off Wednesday by swinging a big trade with the Tennessee Titans for DeAndre Hopkins. The Chiefs wide receiver room is incredibly beat up, so sending a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft was more than worth it when it comes to landing a playmaker of Hopkins caliber.
While this obviously is huge for the Chiefs, it's also big for fantasy football managers who have Hopkins and other Kansas City players on their rosters. So with that in mind, let's check out three Chiefs fantasy football predictions in the wake of this big trade, and see what several folks on this team could end up doing in the future as a result of this move.
Kareem Hunt will remain Chiefs top red zone threat
While the Chiefs are 6-0, they aren't beating teams like we have seen them do in the past. Their passing game has struggled, largely due to their lack of wide receivers, resulting in their ground game leading the way on offense, with their defense suffocating their opponents on the other side of the ball. That has surprisingly led to Kareem Hunt becoming a top fantasy football running back.
With Isiah Pacheco out and Carson Steele struggling, Hunt stepped up and took the lead running back role for the Chiefs. He's averaging 17.2 points per game in his three contests with the team, and is fresh off a two-touchdown performance against the San Francisco 49ers. While Hopkins is a big red zone threat, he doesn't single-handedly solve their aerial attack, which means that Hunt should continue to get opportunities to punch the ball into the end zone when Kansas City finds their way into the red zone.
DeAndre Hopkins will be a borderline WR2 in PPR leagues
For the most part, Hopkins has become an afterthought for fantasy football managers, as folks have been stashing him on their benches in hopes that he would get traded to a team like the Chiefs. Well, that has happened now, meaning that Hopkins is back on the fantasy radar after averaging just 6.4 points per game to start the year.
Hopkins isn't the superstar wide receiver he once was, but he's still a strong route runner who has incredible hands, and he will immediately be fed the ball by Patrick Mahomes, largely because he has very few other options. While this move could also benefit star tight end Travis Kelce, look for Hopkins to become a borderline WR2 based strictly on the amount of targets he is set to receive, as he should be able to produce even if he doesn't consistently find his way into the end zone.
Patrick Mahomes won't reemerge as a top fantasy football quarterback
Maybe the strangest development for fantasy football managers this season is the fact that Mahomes isn't a top quarterback this year. In fact, with an average of 13.8 points per game, Mahomes has actually been one of the worst fantasy quarterbacks this season. He's not passing for touchdowns consistently, and has thrown at least one interception in every game this season.
Adding Hopkins will help, but beyond him and Kelce, the Chiefs don't have much to work with in the passing game still. Mahomes should put up better numbers with a de facto number one wide receiver, but even when Rashee Rice was healthy this season, the superstar quarterback wasn't posting huge fantasy numbers. Kansas City's offense is simply different this season, and that means Mahomes should still be avoided for the foreseeable future, unless the team adds more receiving help, or he starts putting up some big numbers again.
