DeAndre Hopkins’ Chiefs debut had wow moment for Patrick Mahomes: ‘High-level stuff’

Kansas City Chiefs athletic trainer Rick Burkholder made his way to DeAndre Hopkins in the Allegiant Stadium locker room Sunday, shaking his hand after the receiver’s first game with KC.

“Welcome to the party,” Burkholder said with a smile. “It’s only going to get better.”

This first experience wasn’t too shabby, either. After getting traded last week to the Chiefs from the Tennessee Titans, Hopkins made an immediate impact, pulling down two catches for 29 yards in KC’s 27-20 road victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.

“It felt good, to go out there and play,” Hopkins said in front of his locker after the game. “Played a good team and got the dub, so it feels great.”

His two receptions in this one were plenty important. They included a snag on the opening drive that quarterback Patrick Mahomes described as “high-level stuff.”

The Chiefs faced third-and-7, with Mahomes seeing the Raiders sticking disciplined with their zone principles.

Except Hopkins knew how to respond to this look post-snap, settling in a crease as Mahomes found him for a 13-yard gain.

“He pulled up in the right window — stuff you see (tight end) Trav (Kelce) do a lot, you see (receiver) JuJu (Smith-Schuster) do a lot. I was able to throw the ball,” Mahomes said. “I’ve kind of talked about it a little bit: He has good body language when he runs routes, so you can tell what he’s going to do before he does it.”

Mahomes said the Chiefs had only practiced that play once or twice before Hopkins executed it in a critical game setting.

“For this down, in that situation, for him to run it and be in the right position, it shows that he’s gonna fit in perfectly in this offense,” Mahomes said.

Hopkins’ other reception was similarly valuable; he pulled down a 16-yard pass with 8 seconds left in the first half to put the Chiefs in field-goal range for Harrison Butker. The kicker knocked through a 42-yarder on the next play.

“We didn’t get the look that we wanted, but obviously we just went out and made a play,” Hopkins said. “Pat put the ball on the money, and I was where I needed to be.”

What Hopkins did — in his 23 snaps — was not as simple as he made it look.

Chiefs rookie receiver Xavier Worthy said he was in awe of how much knowledge Hopkins took in to prepare himself to play after arriving for his first Chiefs practice Thursday. He described the 12th-year veteran’s ability to memorize the playbook over the last few days as “crazy.”

“It’s a whole new system he has to learn. He has to learn all new formations, all new play calls. It’s a foreign language,” Worthy told The Star. “It’s kudos to him to come in and just being a new guy to show young guys like, ‘Hey, get in your books. Your time could be up anytime.’”

Veteran receiver Mecole Hardman also saw Hopkins ready for the package of plays he had Sunday. Hardman saw Hopkins executing his assignment, lining up correctly, then ending up in the correct location on the field during routes.

That’s not easy to get right after joining a team midweek.

“His attention to detail is nice. He’s been in the league for a long time. He knows what they expect out of him, and he knows he expects out of himself,” Hardman said. “So he just put that out on display. And I’m pretty sure he’s gonna just keep growing as the weeks go.”

Hardman also pointed out something subtle about Hopkins, saying he came to the Chiefs with “good energy.”

That perhaps showed itself best on a Kelce touchdown in the second half, as Hopkins was the first to go over and celebrate with him while pounding his fist against the tight end’s chest.

“He’s been my boy before I got here,” Hopkins said. “So of course, excitement going out, just playing ball and having fun.”

Selfish thoughts from Hopkins likely wouldn’t have led to that moment.

That’s because when Mahomes later reviewed the play on his sideline tablet, he realized something he didn’t know before: Hopkins was also wide open on the play.

“You see that — obviously I know the type of player he is — but you see that on the field, it shows that if they’re going to play man coverage against him, he’s gonna get open,” Mahomes said. “And I’ve got to give him the chances to go out there and make plays.”

Chiefs coach Andy Reid, after saying he was pleased with Hopkins’ production, promised after Sunday’s win that he’d get more opportunities in the next game.

Other Chiefs receivers are likely to benefit from being around him, as well.

That includes the 21-year-old Worthy, who credited Hopkins for picking him up on the sideline after he failed to make a few plays early Sunday. He said it was “just good to have him here.”

“I feel like learning from him is gonna be different,” Worthy said.

For his part, the 32-year-old Hopkins said he was embracing his new role as old man — or “Unc,” short for “Uncle” — among KC’s young receivers.

“It’s fun though, man,” Hopkins said. “I can give those guys some knowledge.”