The 2024 NFL season has not gone the way Tennessee Titans fans may have liked it to, although we cannot say it's been too much of a surprise. For fans hoping to see a bigger jump out of quarterback Will Levis, that simply hasn't happened.
And, because the offense has sputtered, the Titans are sitting with a record of 1-5 and looking like they're well on their way to focusing on the 2025 season already.
Speaking of looking ahead, the Titans had been involved in several trade rumors as of late because of the November 5 deadline coming up. There were a few players, in particular, who had seen their names in rumors and, now, we've got the big bit of news everybody has been waiting for.
Wednesday morning, the Titans finalized a trade to send wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Kansas City Chiefs, giving Patrick Mahomes that long-awaited and long-needed savvy veteran at the position. Kansas City had been down Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown due to injuries, and, Mahomes had been resorting to involving even his third and fourth tight ends at times.
Now, the Chiefs have an opportunity to revive Hopkins' career.
The trade compensation for Hopkins is initially going to be a fifth-round pick, which doesn't sound like much, but it can actually bump up to a fourth rounder if conditions are met. First, let's take a look at the Titans' updated draft capital for next year, following the trade.
Titans 2025 draft picks:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 4
Round 5
Round 5 (via KC)
Round 6
Round 7 (via GB)
Funny enough, this was the second trade Tennessee has completed with the Chiefs, this year. The first, of course, was when the Titans were able to land cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, who has helped transform this defense into one of the better units in football.
The Titans likely aren't done making trades before the deadline
Now that Hopkins has been dealt, Tennessee has obviously admitted to looking ahead to next year. There are still some other names to watch before this year's trade deadline, too.
One of them is also in that wide receiver room, in fellow veteran wideout Tyler Boyd, who like Hopkins, is an aging asset on an expiring contract.
Another couple of names to watch might be defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day or even offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill.
One thing should be noted for sure, because of the Hopkins trade coming first, is the fact that the Titans are definitely looking ahead and, to be frank, this might also signal a bigger change coming next year. But, we'll cover how that looks in a later story (hint: goodbye Will Levis?).