After trading for him during the 2024 season, the Kansas City Chiefs now have decisions to make about wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Do they bring Hopkins back? Does Hopkins even want to come back? What do they do if the veteran opts to sign elsewhere?
Let's completely ignore those first two questions for now and focus on the third one: If Hopkins is lured away in free agency, what can the Chiefs do to replace him? Despite only being on the roster for 10 games, Hopkins was third on the team in targets, behind only Travis Kelce and rookie Xavier Worthy. It's clear that Patrick Mahomes needs more help outside next season, even with the return of Rashee Rice, and Hopkins' departure would leave a significant hole to fill.
Below are five players who could replace DeAndre Hopkins next season in Kansas City.
1. Stefon Diggs
Kansas City likely can't afford to make a huge splash move at wide receiver, but could Diggs be an option nonetheless? He's coming off a torn ACL, which could knock his value down a bit heading into 2025. Could Diggs sign a short-term, prove-it deal with Kansas City?
Diggs' time with the Texans was off to a strong start before going down, as he caught 47 passes for 496 yards and three touchdowns in the first eight games before his knee injury cost him the rest of the season. The numbers weren't quite at the same level from his time with the Buffalo Bills, but he still looked like an upper-echelon NFL player.
There's no guarantee that Diggs returns to his old self as a 31-year-old coming off a major knee injury, but if the price is right then the Chiefs should at least kick the tires. With Kelce not getting any younger, the team needs a go-to intermediate target — and Diggs can still be that guy if he recovers fully from the ACL tear.
2. Hollywood Brown
Maybe the replacement for Hopkins is another current Chiefs receiver who is hitting free agency this offseason. Brown was the prized offseason acquisition for Kansas City last spring, a speedy wideout who could give the team the deep threat it had been missing since Tyreek Hill's departure. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, Brown dealt with a shoulder injury for most of the year and didn't make his Kansas City debut until Week 16 against the Texans, catching five of his eight targets for 45 yards.
Brown only caught five passes for 50 yards across the team's three playoff contests, but it was hard to expect much out of a player who had missed the majority of the year and didn't have much of a rapport yet with Mahomes. Maybe the second time can be the charm for Brown and the Chiefs.
3. Keenan Allen
Allen left the Los Angeles Chargers last year, with the Chicago Bears trading a fourth-round pick for one of the best possession receivers of the past decade. It was sound process from Chicago, which needed to put talent around rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, but ultimately it was a somewhat disappointing year for Allen outside of a promising late-season stretch. From Week 12 to Week 16, Allen looked like ... well, like Keenan Allen, with 70 or more receiving yards in four of those five games.
Outside of that run, though, Allen never went for more than 44 yards in a single game. What this should mean as he approaches free agency is that there won't be a huge market for the veteran's services. Plenty of teams would love to add him, but not if it requires a major financial committment.
Maybe that will make Allen value a chance at a Super Bowl ring over signing the biggest deal he can get, and he figures to quickly develop a mind meld with Mahomes.
4. Mike Williams
Why not bring up another familiar foe and former Los Angeles Charger who the Chiefs know well from their twice-yearly meetings?
Allen's move to Chicago could have gone better, but it also could have gone much worse. For example, it could have looked like Williams' move to the New York Jets. Williams played nine games for New York, catching 12 passes for 166 yards before the team traded him to the Steelers. In Pittsburgh, he caught just nine passes for 132 yards and a touchdown.
Signing Williams would be one of the cheaper moves that Kansas City could make this offseason, because he's coming off an atrocious year and has an extensive injury history. But Williams is a big body who can make plays in the red zone, so it would make some sense for Kansas City to give him a shot. He won't make Chiefs fans forget about Hopkins all on his own, but if K.C. strikes out on big names, he'd be a low-risk signing.
5. Darius Slayton
For years, there was this funny thing happening in New York where the Giants made all kinds of moves at wide receiver and then at the end of the season, Darius Slayton somehow still wound up as the team's No. 1 target.
That's no longer the case after the Giants drafted Malik Nabers and finally hit on a young receiver. Slayton's 573 receiving yards last year were the second-fewest of his NFL career, and it looks like his days in New York are numbered.
Slayton might not be the most exciting option in the world, but his reliability is a major factor heading into free agency. He shouldn't be a No. 1 wideout, but the Chiefs don't need that, necessarily: Hopkins was a big name, but he wasn't an elite No. 1 for K.C. like he had been at past stops. Maybe all the Chiefs really need to replace Hopkins is a dependable receiver who can move the chains and stay on the field. In that case, Slayton should be in play for the Chiefs in free agency.