Hopkins was always the most logical trade candidate to fill the Chiefs' glaring gap at receiver. The big wideout started the season slowly after an injury, but showed he still has the strength and can win one-on-one duels. His ability to snap the pigskin in tight coverage hasn't diminished with age.

The Chiefs were one of the teams competing to sign Hopkins in 2023 following his release from Arizona, but Tennessee surpassed them. Now KC has grabbed her guy.

Signing the five-time Pro Bowler is a huge step for the 6-0 Chiefs, who are hoping for a third straight Super Bowl. KC's offseason plan to revamp its receiver corps went awry. Hollywood Brown was injured before the season. Rashee Rice suffered a knee injury in Week 4. Then JuJu Smith-Schuster suffered a knee injury last week.

The injuries left the Chiefs' receiver room in shambles, relying on speedy rookie Xavier Worthy, Justin Watson, Mecole Hardman and Skyy Moore. In Week 7, backup tight end Noah Gray led KC with 66 yards on four catches in a win over the 49ers.

The 32-year-old receiver has rushed for 173 yards and a touchdown on 15 catches in six games this season. He ranked second on the Titans in receiving yards (Calvin Ridley, 183). Tennessee doesn't have a single pass catcher with 200 receiving yards this season. To illustrate, Jauan Jennings, the 49ers' No. 3 receiver, had more yards in a game (175) than Hopkins did in the entire 2024 season. The passing attack was easy for the Titans in Brian Callahan's first season with Will Levis and Mason Rudolph under center unavailable. So Hopkins was a superfluous figure in the final year of his contract.

The Titans will move forward with Ridley and Tyler Boyd at the top of their depth chart.

Tennessee's willingness to buy out part of Hopkins' contract helped push the deal over the finish line for the Chiefs, who are in the bottom quartile in terms of cap space, according to Over The Cap.

The Chiefs escaped 6-0 despite the offense's inability to sustain drives and pile up points. Patrick Mahomes has only had one 300-yard passing performance so far this season. Despite missing two games, Rice still leads KC in receiving yards.

With no outside threats, teams were able to stifle star tight end Travis Kelce and deprive Mahomes of his security blanket for most of the season. Worthy has had moments with his blistering speed, but the rookie is still finding his way. KC spent the better part of the last two years assembling the receiver room piece by piece, relying on the magic of Mahomes and Kelce to fill the gaps. But injuries this year forced the front office to make a move.

They achieved a tremendous result on Wednesday.

The addition of Hopkins gives Mahomes a target who can win from the outside and give the rest of the team more comfortable roles. His presence allows Worthy to stretch the field and opens up the middle for Kelce.

The back-to-back Super Bowl champions and the only undefeated team in the NFL just got a whole lot better in their hunt for a three-peat.