The Kansas City Chiefs have suffered several injuries during the 2024 NFL season, but perhaps none more significant than the injury to second-year wide receiver Rashee Rice. We’re now over 10 games removed from Rice’s last snap, and he’s still fifth in total yards on offense.

The Chiefs have adapted and overcome, and at the trade deadline, they added another playmaker in wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. The original thought was that Hopkins could fill the void left by Rice on offense. Yet, the shift in time since Hopkins was acquired seems a bit dramatic to the naked eye. Rice was racking up the yards after the catch at a league-leading rate, but that has not been the case for Hopkins. He’s still thriving in the offense but in a much different way.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Chiefs pass game coordinator Joe Bleymaier discussed the similarities and differences between what the team is trying to accomplish with Hopkins and Rice.

“Yeah, it does appear that there is a change or a big, drastic transformation,” Bleymaier said. “Really, it’s just trying to get the ball to Rashee [Rice] as fast as possible. And similarly, with DeAndre [Hopkins], just give him the ball the easiest way and the fastest way and the way that he can put the most stress on the defense. And so we kind of got into a groove with Rashee on a number of ways that we found success doing that. With DeAndre, where we know from his past a bunch of the ways that he’s had success doing that. So now we’re just trying to build that in a little bit.”

Ultimately, the goal remains the same: Get the ball to your playmakers with success and efficiency. The team isn’t actually trying to turn Hopkins into Rice. That’d be like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Instead, they’re reaching for different plays on the shelf and attempting to blend what the team does best with what Hopkins does best.

It hasn’t always been a perfect marriage, but over the past two weeks, you’ve started to see some new calls integrated for Hopkins. His 18 targets in that span are more than any other receiver for Kansas City. From the sound of it, the Chiefs haven’t even begun to scratch the surface with the types of plays from his past that could also be successful with his new team.

“It hasn’t necessarily been as much of a drastic change as it is just a shift in the same mentality,” Bleymaier explained. “How can we get these playmakers the ball and just a little bit different twist. And DeAndre’s got a whole bunch of plays from his past that we haven’t necessarily utilized a ton of but that he’s great at. So, we’re just bringing them back.”