“Once we found out that I wouldn’t be back in Kansas City, we made a list,” the 32-year-old receiver said Friday. “And the Ravens were the first team on my list.”

After reaching the Super Bowl last season with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, Hopkins will now play with Lamar Jackson and Baltimore after reaching a one-year deal with the Ravens. Baltimore’s offense was dazzling last season as Jackson threw for a career-high 4,172 yards and finished with a passer rating of 119.6.

The Ravens don’t necessarily need Hopkins to regain the form that made him an all-Pro from 2017-19. He did reach 1,000 yards receiving in 2023 before putting up more pedestrian numbers last season — both before and after his October trade from Tennessee to Kansas City.

He joins a Baltimore offense that is led by Jackson and running back Derrick Henry — and also has plenty of capable receiving threats in wideouts Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman and tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely.

“The receivers specifically, they’re young, fast, and those guys go out and make plays,” Hopkins said. “They’re exciting to watch, but I don’t know much about them outside of what I see on the football field, so I’m just looking forward to hanging out and learning more about them.”

Hopkins will now be reunited with Henry, his teammate in Tennessee who ran for 1,921 yards last year in his first season with Baltimore.

“Derrick and I talk throughout the year, and that’s one of my best friends. He keeps it honest, so for me, it was a couple of different things,” Hopkins said. “From the head coach down, I feel like everyone, they compete, they’re dawgs, and I feel like this organization (and) this team matches who I am.”

The question now is what Hopkins can offer the Ravens. Baltimore has brought in no shortage of big-name receivers in recent years who were past their peaks. Odell Beckham Jr., for example, caught 35 passes for 565 yards for the Ravens in 2023 — a legitimate contribution, but not necessarily a season-altering one.

Hopkins might not be targeted as much as he was earlier in his career, given how many other threats the Ravens have. But even more than with Kansas City, he should have a chance to flourish while defenses are focused elsewhere, whether on Jackson, Henry or the speedy Flowers.

“I’ve never been a 4.3 or 4.4 (40-yard dash) guy, but I’m able to make plays on the ball and get open, and contested catches — I feel like that’s been something that I’ve been able to excel in,” Hopkins said. “And I would say my knowledge of defenses as well. Playing 13 years in the NFL, you learn defensive coverages and how to get open, and you kind of know what the defense is doing sometimes pre-snap.”

Now he’ll have a chance to combine forces — again — with one of the league’s top quarterbacks.

“I was watching YouTube highlights of this offense to kind of get familiar with it, and he makes some incredible throws, and some of the interceptions as a receiver, you have to take responsibility yourself,” Hopkins said. “Lamar, he knows how to thread the needle, so for me, that was definitely a big part of the decision.”