The Kansas City Chiefs are 6-0, the NFL‘s sole unbeaten team in 2024. But 6-0 is not good enough — the Chiefs want more, and they want to get closer to a third consecutive Super Bowl title in February.

To that end, Kansas City swung a major trade this week by acquiring All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Tennessee Titans. Going from Tennessee — a team likely ticketed for a top-10 draft pick — to immediate contention in Kansas City could feel like whiplash for Hopkins, who arrived in Missouri on Thursday to greet his new teammates and work out for the first time in Chiefs red.

Hopkins touches down in Kansas City

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Hopkins explained that playing “meaningful football” will help him unlock facets of his game that many fans have not seen since he starred for the Houston Texans between 2013 and 2019.

“It takes your game to a different level,” Hopkins said of playing for a place in the Super Bowl. “(The Titans) could have traded me anywhere. I gotta tip my hat off for those guys before anything and thank them a lot for that. Coming here, when I got the news, obviously I was excited but ready to get to work.”

Injuries and inconsistency have plagued Hopkins since he was last selected to the Pro Bowl as a member of the Arizona Cardinals in 2020. The 32-year-old has only one 1,000-yard receiving season to his name since 2021, and he has not played in the playoffs since the 2019 season — his final campaign in Houston.

But assuming Hopkins is healthy, he should play his first postseason snaps in five years this coming January — although Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is not yet looking that far ahead. Asked whether Hopkins would line up next to Patrick Mahomes when the Chiefs visit the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, Reid did not see the point in keeping his cards close to his chest.

“Why wait, right?” Reid said simply.