It’s no secret by now that Knile Davis has likely played his last snap as a Kansas City Chief. Despite showing promise as a running back early in his career, he was jumped by both Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware on the depth chart after Jamaal Charles went down last season. Davis simply doesn’t have the vision or lateral agility to succeed in a West Coast offense, not to mention his pass catching and ball security issues.
We’ve seen, however, Davis look like a very good running back at times when given holes to run through and asked to strictly run north and south. He still possesses a rare combination of straight-line speed and power, which will always give him value as a kick returner if all else fails. To his credit, also, Davis kept a good attitude throughout the season and didn’t cause any problems after his ‘benching’.
All in all, there’s still hope for Davis to be a solid running back in the NFL if used in the right way in an offense that suits his strengths. Situations like Davis’ usually don’t merit much trade value, but I think the Chiefs could possibly get a 6th or 7th round draft pick or even another bubble player in return. I’ve identified some teams that might be a good fit for Davis, and outlined possible assets the Chiefs could get back. Let’s take a look.
New England Patriots
The Patriots have plenty of ammo with five sixth-round picks and two seventh-round picks. They’ve traditionally used a power back (LeGarrette Blount the past few seasons) as their first and second down pounder and leave pass catching responsibilities for quicker, more agile backs.
Blount is still a free agent, and while they brought in Donald Brown I still think they’re looking for more competition for their power back role. If the Chiefs could receive any one of the several late round picks the Patriots have, I think it’d be a fair deal for both sides.
Miami Dolphins
After losing Lamar Miller in free agency, the Dolphins have inquired on several big name free agent running backs (C.J. Anderson, Chris Johnson, Arian Foster) but have only managed to sign Daniel Thomas and Isiah Peed. While Jay Ajayi is a very promising player, his health issues hinder him from probably ever being a workhouse back so it’s clear the Dolphins are not done bringing in competition to split carries.
Knile Davis had one of the best games of his career two seasons ago against the Dolphins, and could be enough to convince Miami to work out a trade. The Chiefs might be able to get the Dolphins’ sixth round or one of their two seventh-round picks in a deal. Another interesting deal would be for Dion Jordan, a player who even if reinstated into the NFL might not be in the Dolphin’s plans. I assume he’d need to be reinstated before being able to be traded for, but he’d be an intriguing get nonetheless with his pass-rushing potential.
Next: More options...