Veterans Hopkins, Brown provide big boost to Chiefs wide receiver group

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs traded for DeAndre Hopkins midway through the season, back when the two-time defending Super Bowl champs had lost wide receivers Marquise Brown and Rashee Rice to injuries, and the hope was that the three-time All-Pro could help to stabilize a position group that had struggled for years. They could only have hoped for what would transpire over the next three months. Along with giving Patrick Mahomes a capable pass catcher, Hopkins — and Brown — began to share their knowledge with Xavier Worthy, and the result has been a massive step forward for the first-round pick headed into the postseason. “I'm understanding the game more, being around guys who have done it against good opponents,” Worthy said this week, as the Chiefs prepared to play Houston in the divisional round Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium. “Understanding their knowledge on how to do it has helped me to evolve,” Worthy said. His stats back that up. Over his first nine games, Worthy caught just 20 passes for 246 yards and three scores. Over his next seven games, which roughly coincides with the arrival of Hopkins in Kansas City, the fastest wide receiver ever to clock a 40-yard dash time at the NFL scouting combine has caught 39 passes for 392 yards and three more touchdowns. “D-Hop is really route-savvy. Played in the league for a long time,” Worthy said. “Hollywood Brown, a guy kind of similar to me, helping me to learn to run routes against bigger guys. They kind of gave me some techniques to use.” What techniques, exactly? “I can't really tell you or you'll know my tricks,” Worthy said with a smile. More importantly, the Texans and the rest of the NFL would know them. It's important to note that Hopkins and Worthy are on one-year contracts. They had no obligation to help the Chiefs beyond this season, and could instead have gone about their own business. But both are trying to earn their first Super Bowl rings, too, and by pouring into Worthy, they have better equipped Kansas City to make another deep postseason run. As for the playoff stage, Mahomes said there's no reason to believe it will be too big for Worthy, who participated in the College Football Playoff for Texas last season. The Longhorns lost a nailbiter to Washington in the semifinals. “Obviously the adrenaline is going to be flowing, and you're going to be, I guess, a little nervous or whatever it is,” Mahomes said, “but once you get on the football field, you just play. And I think that's something that he's done great this entire season. He has played a lot of big games, done a lot of productive things, and I expect him to do the same thing in the playoffs.” Meanwhile, the Chiefs got another big boost to their wide receiver group in December: Brown's return from shoulder surgery. He had dislocated the joint on the first play of the preseason, and initially the Chiefs hoped he would be back in a matter of weeks. But the shoulder didn't heal properly, and Brown underwent a procedure that could easily have been a season-ender. As the months progressed, though, Brown's recovery proved to be ahead of schedule. By late November, it looked as if he would soon return to practice. And by mid-December, he was back on the field for games, making his season debut — coincidentally — in a game against Houston. He also played against Pittsburgh on Christmas Day in a game that clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Now, the Chiefs have gone from having a wide receiver group that threatened to hold them back to one with Hopkins, Brown and Worthy that just could make the difference in winning a record third consecutive Lombardi Trophy. “We had injuries and stuff like that (where) we've kind of had to move through and work through the entire season,” Mahomes said. “I feel like we're getting better and better each and every week, and that's all you can ask for. You want to be playing your best football at the end of the year, and we're getting there.” NOTES: Chiefs K Harrison Butker has missed a FG and PAT in his past two games, and some wonder whether the inconsistency has had anything to do with the midseason surgery he had on his plant knee. “He had a lot of power yesterday,” special teams coach Dave Toub said Wednesday. “He looked like old Butker again.” ... CB Jaylen Watson (broken ankle) hopes to be active on Saturday the first time since getting hurt Oct. 20. “Him and I spoke this morning. I think these next two days will be real important,” defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said Wednesday. “He needs to get up to the speed of the game and it's not regular-season speed. It's playoff speed.” ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl