Running back is Chiefs “biggest remaining roster hole” after free agency
By Matt Conner
ESPN polled their team writers for the biggest roster holes remaining on each team, and Adam Teicher says running back is the Chiefs’ main issue.
After the dust of early free agency has settled, each team is likely heading into the upcoming NFL Draft with fewer holes than before. For the Kansas City Chiefs, the biggest remaining issue on the roster, per ESPN’s Adam Teicher, is at running back. When polled for a recent round-up, Teicher pointed to the lack of impact production last year and the loss of veteran Jamaal Charles as key reasons why the Chiefs need to focus on the backfield.
"The Chiefs relinquished many big plays last season because backs Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West lacked the open-field speed that Kansas City had been used to from Jamaal Charles. That’s why the Chiefs in part used the speedy Tyreek Hill out of the backfield late in the season. The Chiefs signed veteran C.J. Spiller with the hope he can return to the form he showed early in his career. They’re a good bet to draft a back just in case Spiller can’t."
Teicher is definitely not wrong here, but there are a myriad of other answers that would also fit the bill. He’s correct that the lack of true playmaking ability at the position significantly limits what Andy Reid wants to do offensively, and a tandem of having Tyreek Hill and another impact running back on the field together would cause much more harm than simply moving around Hill from place to place. Teicher is also right to not depend at all on the Spiller signing to solve the problem.
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That said, the Chiefs can likely answer this problem by adding another back to the rotation on the third day of the draft, and there’s no need to reach for a Christian McCaffrey or Dalvin Cook in the first with other, perhaps even bigger, needs. The team has absolutely no one behind Alex Smith, and given the importance of the position, it needs to be addressed ASAP. The team is also a disaster at inside linebacker, depending entirely upon Derrick Johnson to return from an Achilles injury so late in his career.
Cases could also be made for the offensive interior at guard, another edge rusher or a high-ceiling cornerback prospect. The good news is that the Chiefs have 10 picks to use to address these concerns and come out much stronger on the other side.