KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Kansas City Chiefs have a knack for getting midseason trades right for wide receivers.

In 2022, they sent a pair of draft picks to the New York Giants for Kadarius Toney, who scored one touchdown in the fourth quarter of that season’s Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles and set up another with a long punt return.

Last season the acquisition was Mecole Hardman from the New York Jets. Hardman caught the touchdown pass in overtime to send the Chiefs to a Super Bowl LVIII victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

These trades are working out the way the Chiefs intended, which is why they tried again this year by dealing with the Tennessee Titans for DeAndre Hopkins, whom they acquired for a conditional fourth-round pick.

It will take even more from the 32-year-old Hopkins, who unlike Toney or Hardman is an established but aging star, to make this trade work in the Chiefs’ favor. The Toney deal was more forward-looking, to help shore up a receiving group in the wake of the Tyreek Hill trade. That part didn’t work out so well for the Chiefs, who released Toney at the end of training camp this year.

Hardman was acquired for his depth. The Chiefs need Hopkins to be their No. 1 wide receiver by the playoffs, if not sooner.

The top wideout candidates, Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown, are out with injuries. Rice is out for the season with a right knee injury. Brown, who suffered a sternoclavicular injury during the preseason, could return in the postseason.

Before the Hopkins trade, the Chiefs were left with Xavier Worthy, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Justin Watson, Hardman and Skyy Moore. At least at this point in their careers, there isn’t a No. 1 wide receiver in the bunch.

Worthy, the Chiefs’ first-round draft pick, may eventually reach that point, but for now he’s a 21-year-old rookie. He is what the Chiefs expected at this stage of his career: a high-impact, low-volume receiver. He has 15 receptions for 198 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 13.2 yards per catch.

Smith-Schuster is nursing a hamstring injury that showed up in practice last week and knocked him out in the first quarter against the 49ers last week. The Chiefs have said he will not play against the Raiders on Sunday in Las Vegas. He’ll be back at some point later in the season, but the Chiefs didn’t bring him back expecting him to be their No. 1 wideout. Despite his recent big game against the New Orleans Saints, he is more of a complementary player.

Watson and Hardman also fit into the complementary category. Moore has produced little since joining the Chiefs in 2022.

So Hopkins can’t be a gadget revealed during special plays tailored to him, like Toney was. He can’t be a backup who was in the right place at the right time during the final game of last year’s Super Bowl like Hardman was. He must produce in large numbers, as he has done in the past. Hopkins has 1,000 or more yards receiving in seven of his 11 seasons in the league, including last season with the Titans. He is also a five-time first- or second-team All-Pro.

The Chiefs went 6-0 with this group of receivers, but with a more critical look, which general manager Brett Veach and coach Andy Reid are paid to do, did they have enough to beat a slate of top quality opponents in the league? postseason?

By making the Hopkins trade, the Chiefs made their statement on the matter loud and clear. Whether the Chiefs ultimately look back on this trade like they are doing with the Toney and Hardman trades and, more importantly, whether they win an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl championship, depends on Hopkins and what they can get from him.