Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Ed Easton Jr.

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce discusses DeAndre Hopkins’ veteran presence: ‘He’s just professional’

The moves being made by the Kansas City Chiefs front office are preparing the team for a hopeful three-peat run. Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce serves as a leader on the team, and he doesn’t hold back on uplifting new teammates when they join the organization.

On the latest episode of the New Heights podcast, Kelce praised DeAndre Hopkins’ immediate veteran presence on the team.

“It’s awesome, man. Having D-Hop (DeAndre Hopkins) in the building, have another vet, a guy, he’s such a,  I call him ‘Swag Champ’ when you get a vet into the building, and he juices everybody’s confidence up,” said Kelce. “He juices everybody, like the aura and the fun that you have in the building and just going to work. He’s just another guy that you can always rely on to show up and put in the work, but enjoy what he’s doing and try and have some fun with it. Man, he’s been awesome stepping up and stepping into the building.”

Hopkins will have a more prominent role in the offense after his brief cameo in the Week 8 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.

“He had two days, Thursday and Friday during practice, to get timing with Pat (Patrick Mahomes) and in the offense to try and kind of get into the routine, everything with coach (Andy) Reid’s way of doing things,” said Kelce. “he’s just professional, just a professional guy. He came in asking questions, trying to get caught up as fast as possible. And sure enough, we got him in the building, and I think the first third down we had, we went right to him, baby. Yeah, right to him. And he’s right on time, man.”

The Chiefs return to action on Monday Night Football with Hopkins and recently acquired linebacker Joshua Uche taking center stage in front of a national audience.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.