DeAndre Hopkins traded to Kansas City: The Dynasty Fantasy Football Impact
Just when news of the week had seemingly settled down, many of us woke up this morning to find out wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was traded from the Tennessee Titans to the Kansas City Chiefs overnight. It’s a trade that made so much sense that social media had almost demanded it happen over the past few days after seeing the Chiefs lose Marquise Brown, Rashee Rice and JuJu Smith-Schuster to injuries and it seems the two franchises saw the same match. It’s a trade that has ramifications in terms of player values in the short and long-term, so let’s take a look at the players affected.
DeAndre Hopkins, WR KC
The Chiefs had to trade just a conditional fourth-round pick to the Titans in exchange for Hopkins, so this isn’t exactly a franchise-changing investment. It makes sense as Hopkins will be a free agent at the end of the season and this has all the markings of a one-year veteran rental for the Chiefs to see if they can run it back one more time.
Hopkins has been extremely productive during his career, posting 943 career catches for 12,528 yards and 79 touchdowns in his 12 seasons with Houston, Arizona, and Tennessee. However, his production lately has been spotty at best. Last year was decent as he posted a 75/1,057/7 line with the Titans, but a torn MCL has slowed him down this year as he’s posted just 15 catches for 173 yards and one touchdown over six games and much of that (six catches for 73 yards and a touchdown) came in one game against the Packers.
The big question to be answered with Hopkins is simple – is he cooked at age 32 or did the Titans awful quarterback situation and his injury simply destroy the first part of his season. The Chiefs clearly believe he has something left in the tank or they wouldn’t have made the move. Again, while a fourth round pick isn’t going to kill a franchise if Hopkins busts, NFL teams covet their draft picks and don’t just give them away.
With Kansas City, Hopkins should slide right in as their top wide receiver. With Brown and Rice out for the year, Smith-Schuster already out for at least this week with a hamstring injury and little depth around him, they have no choice. Hopkins’ ADP slide should come to a halt now, but this Chiefs offense is a whole lot different than it has been in the past. Patrick Mahomes is only asked to manage games and isn’t exactly needed to throw 50 touchdown passes a season as they lean more on their suddenly elite-level defense. Hopkins could provide WR2 value, but dynasty managers out of contention should jump at someone offering them even a second round rookie pick for his services.
Xavier Worthy, WR KC
The Chiefs really do like Worthy, but it’s clear they also view him as a long-term project. So far this season, Worthy has just 15 catches for 198 yards with two touchdowns. He’s added 47 rushing yards and two more scores as Kansas City has attempted to use him creatively in the running game as well. Still, it’s apparent they just aren’t ready to lean on him as they are serious in attempting what many think is the impossible – a three-peat as Super Bowl Champions. He has great long-term upside, but the Chiefs had their bye week to find ways to get him the ball and it didn’t seem like a priority. He may end up being a gadget player this entire season and that could create a solid “buy low” opportunity in dynasty leagues this year.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR KC
The Benjamin Button of all fantasy players (he’s still somehow just 27 years old) Kansas City has already ruled him out with a hamstring injury this week and this seems like it could be a multi-week injury at the very least, though they’re keeping some information pretty close to the vest. Dynasty managers were pretty excited after his 8/130 game a couple of weeks ago, but this injury throws cold water on everything. In addition, he had just four catches for 17 yards the rest of the entire season, making that week look like a bit of a mirage. He could come back and post some big games, but he looks like a player who may be pretty tough to trust.
Other Chiefs Receivers
This includes the likes of Justin Watson, Skyy Moore, and Mecole Hardman. With Mahomes not exactly slinging the ball around the yard, it really looks like someone from this group is going to have some good games here and there, but good luck figuring out when that’s going to be. Moore is especially disappointing from a dynasty perspective as he just hasn’t developed into much of anything. Adding Hopkins to this group doesn’t make the chance of that happening any better.
Travis Kelce, TE KC
Can it get worse? Kelce hasn’t been great this season with just 245 yards and no touchdowns through six games. He’s on pace for his worst season by far and while having Hopkins could potentially free him up in the middle of the field, it’s also clear the Chiefs may be employing some “load management” on his shoulders in anticipation of a playoff run. For the first time in his career, he’s not a “set it and forget it” option in dynasty lineups and that’s sent some dynasty managers into panic mode.
Patrick Mahomes, QB KC
The Chiefs have morphed into a team that relies on their defense and just doesn’t have to ask Mahomes to do nearly as much as he used to (or can). It’s a smart tactic in reality (it’s hard to argue with an undefeated record), but dynasty managers aren’t thrilled with his 1,389 passing yards with just six touchdowns and eight interceptions on the year. Mahomes, like Kelce, is no longer locked into fantasy lineups as his start to the season is by far the worst he’s had in history. The addition of Hopkins could help, but the Chiefs really may not need to start slinging the ball around the yard if their defense doesn’t allow people to score much.
Chiefs Running Backs
At this point, Kareem Hunt has taken over the backfield with the likes of Samaje Perine, Carson Steele, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire all being used to give him a break. Who knows if he’s going to hold up with this kind of workload, but dynasty managers won’t complain about the production at the moment. Hunt also looks like the perfect low-cost, high-ceiling, short-term investment for contending dynasty teams at the moment.
Will Levis, QB TEN
Losing Hopkins won’t help, but Levis has bigger problems than that at the moment. In short, he’s been bad. Like really bad. While he has apparent arm talent, his decision making has been poor to say the least and if you take away the first game of his career (a crazy four touchdown performance off the bench) he has just seven touchdowns and 11 interceptions in his other 13 games played, inspiring nobody inside or outside of Nashville in the process. His QBR is better than that of only Deshaun Watson (that should tell you all you need to know about both of them at the moment) and the 1-5 Titans are losing patience with him. At this point, you really have to wonder if they regret giving away Malik Willis and not seeing what they may have had there after he played well with the Packers this year. Regardless, Levis’ dynasty value is on life support and this won’t help.
Calvin Ridley, WR TEN
Is he still good? I’m not sure if anyone even knows at this point. Ridley’s first year with the Titans has been a disaster as he’s posted just 12 catches for 183 yards and one touchdown on the season. He was fine last year in Jacksonville with a 76/1,016/8 season but the Titans just aren’t getting him the ball and he’s openly expressing his frustration. Expect Ridley’s target share to go up with this move (and his complaining), but who knows where those targets are going to be headed – they could go towards his hands, the ground, the sky, or in the crowd at this point.
Tyler Boyd, WR TEN
Much like Ridley, Boyd has been a disappointment this year. Also much like Ridley, is likely not totally his fault. He has just 18 catches for 170 yards as he gathers dust on dynasty benches at the moment. His production could improve, but it also may take a permanent quarterback change for that to happen. He looks like a roster clogger at this point, but dynasty managers may give this a few more weeks before cutting bait.
Treylon Burks, WR TEN
Burks is dealing with an injury at the moment, but expecting Tennessee to make one receiver relevant seems like a stretch. Making three of them relevant seems like an impossibility. Burks just looks like a first round bust and his dynasty value is reaching the breaking point.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, WR TEN
Again, making all of these receivers relevant is a stretch, but his targets could increase. Outside of Ridley, he seems like the option that fits best in this offense, but that may not be saying much. Let’s see what happens in the coming weeks in terms of his usage.
Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK
- Lineup Advice: Week 15 - December 15, 2024
- The Dynasty Aftermath: Running Back Careers Cut Short - December 10, 2024
- Lineup Advice: Week 14 - December 8, 2024
