After 12 years in the NFL, DeAndre Hopkins is finally headed to his first Super Bowl after the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills 32-29 in the AFC championship on Sunday night.

In his first 11 NFL seasons, Hopkins' teams never got past the divisional round. In Year 12 with the Chiefs, he hopes that changes.

The Chiefs have, of course. They are making their third straight trip to the big game, and fifth in six years, as they try to become the first franchise in NFL history to raise three consecutive Lombardi Trophies come Super Bowl Sunday. They might as well start scheduling these February business trips.

DeAndre Hopkins clarifies that he’s at this stage of his career thanks to the Kansas City Chiefs, who believed in him—unlike the doubters who never thought he could win a conference title, as he did against the Buffalo Bills.

WR Hollywood Brown, LT Joe Thuney, LG Mike Caliendo, C Creed Humphrey, RG Trey Smith, RT Jawaan Taylor, WR Xavier Worthy, TE Travis Kelce, WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, QB Patrick Mahomes and RB Isiah Pacheco.

DeAndre Hopkins has accomplished plenty of individual success during his 12-year career. A Super Bowl appearance has evaded him until now.

In discussing Patrick Mahomes’ legacy, Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins compared him to Michael Jordan

Kansas City #Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins says the chance at a Super Bowl is a ‘childhood dream’ | @EdEastonJr

Kansas City #Chiefs veterans will make their AFC Championship game debuts on Sunday vs. Buffalo #Bills | @EdEastonJr

From Jaylen Watson to DeAndre Hopkins, several Chiefs stood out for very different reasons when examining KC's snap counts vs. Houston.

Of course, Sanders' high opinion of Hopkins is a big deal because, in his 17-year career as a cornerback, he faced some of the greats, like Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin, and Andre Reed. Sanders even has some of his own experience playing wide receiver at the NFL level, accumulating 60 receptions, 784 yards and three touchdowns.