Kansas City Chiefs: Maclin Shmaclin, RUN THE BALL!
If there is one single player on the 2017 Chiefs roster that has the most potential to revitalize the running game it is Kareem Hunt. That’s not to say that Chiefs fans should be counting on him to do it, he’s just a rookie third round draft pick after all. That having been said, Hunt has some serious upside that could give the running game the jump start it so badly needs after last season.
I just mentioned that Ware does not have a track record as a work horse running back. That’s not true of Kareem Hunt. While Spencer Ware only had 295 total carries in his three seasons at LSU combined, Hunt had 262 carries in his senior year alone (along with 41 receptions). In fact, Hunt averaged almost 200 carries per season in his four years as the starter at Toledo. I think we can all agree that the pounding he took at Toledo and the pounding he’ll take in the NFL over a 16 game season will be different, but as college backs go, Hunt is a proven every down back.
The other thing that Hunt has going for him is that he is incredibly shifty and hard to bring down. We established that the Chiefs offensive line is solid but doesn’t exactly over power people at the line of scrimmage. Hunt’s running style could be a perfect match for this line since he has shown the ability to fit through small openings and not go down on first contact. You can see this if you just take five minutes to watch his game tape.
If you don’t want to take my word for it or watch tape yourself, there is also this from Pro Football Focus’ Draft Guide. Hunt scored seventh best in college football in PFF’s elusiveness rating which combines missed tackles created and yards after contact. He was second best in college football in the percentage of time he was brought down on first contact. He was also sixth among running backs in receiving yards per route run. Bottom line, while he hasn’t proven ANYTHING in the NFL yet, his college resume looks like a guy that could be exactly what this team is looking for.
In order for the Chiefs running game to be as productive as they need either Ware has to prove he can maintain his productivity with a heavy work load or Hunt has to prove that he can be a factor as a rookie. If both of those things happen, the Chiefs could have a dramatic improvement. If neither of them happen, it could be another frustrating year on offense as Alex Smith is forced to carry the bulk of the load on his shoulders again.
So what do you think Chiefs fans? Do you agree that despite all the buzz over Jeremy Maclin’s release last week that the real story of the 2017 offense is whether or not they can get the run game going again? I believe that to be 100% true. Personally, I am hoping that Kareem Hunt proves to be the real deal and Spencer Ware goes back to being a complimentary player like he was in 2015 (a highly productive one), but I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below.
As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!