Kareem Hunt’s accelerated timeline is a first for Andy Reid
By Matt Conner
With a historic debut for the ages, rookie running back Kareem Hunt placed himself ahead of the typical learning curve required under Andy Reid.
Andy Reid didn’t see this coming. John Dorsey didn’t either. There’s not a single front office figure or coach who can claim to have predicted the production that Kansas City Chiefs rookie running Kareem Hunt provided on Thursday night in the team’s dominant victory over the New England Patriots. While there was plenty of preseason praise and pre-draft buzz, the reality is that Hunt was so good that it caught everyone off guard. Everyone.
Hunt fumbled the opening carry, was encouraged by his head coach to not let it get to his head, and then settled in after early rookie jitters. He finished the night with the most yards from scrimmage in a player’s debut ever with 246 total yards. In fact, it’s not even close. Next on the list is Billy Sims, the incredible running back for the Detroit Lions in the early ’80s, and Anquan Boldin, each of whom had 217 yards. From there it drops below 200 with longtime running back Ottis Anderson with 193 total yards. Hunt wasn’t just good but he’s 30 yards better than the next closest competitor and 50 yards better than fourth place on the list. In other words, it was a dominant performance on a historic level.
Beyond just the debut, however, what will this mean going forward? Is Hunt going to maintain this dominance? If so, he will be the outlier for a timeline that typically forces rookies to come along much more slowly under head coach Andy Reid.
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Spencer Ware’s season-ending injury and the lack of other options on the active roster forced the Chiefs to move Hunt into the spotlight. In so doing, they also cemented Hunt as the first rookie running back to ever truly break out for Andy Reid. Even familiar names from his days with the Philadelphia Eagles like Brian Westbrook or LeSean McCoy, Duce Staley or Correll Buckhalter were all forced to slowly integrate their talents into the offense. The first year of production for all of the aforementioned players ranged from forgettable to promising.
Let’s take Westbrook as an example. The two-time Pro Bowler was a third round choice himself, just like Kareem Hunt, in the 2002 NFL Draft. He started 3 games his first season, 8 games his second season and wasn’t the featured back until his third year. He didn’t score his first touchdown until his sophomore year in the pros. He also didn’t cross 1,000 yards from scrimmage until his third year.
LeSean McCoy’s trajectory was higher overall, but even his rookie season doesn’t stand out statistically. He was a Pro Bowler by his third year and became a dynamic featured back in his second year, but his rookie campaign included only 4 starts and middling totals of 155 total carries for 637 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns. He caught another 40 passes for 308 receiving yards for a decent enough 945 yards from scrimmage. For some perspective, remember that Kareem Hunt had 26 percent of that total in his first game—against the defending Super Bowl champions.
The story is the same when looking at other running backs. Duce Staley’s first year under Reid wasn’t his rookie year, but he was still only 24-years-old when Reid arrived in Philly. He had 7 total rushes for 29 yards that entire season. Buckhalter had 129 rushes for 586 rushing yards during his rookie season. There’s not a single rookie running back who can even compare with the sort of debut performance that Hunt displayed on Thursday.
Even in Kansas City, the story is the same. The presence of Jamaal Charles kept the team from really making many early running back choices in the draft, and that kept the rookie pool thin at the position. Knile Davis was a rookie during Reid’s first year as the Chiefs head coach and finished with 70 carries for 242 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns. De’Anthony Thomas had 14 carries for 113 yards in 2014. Charcandrick West led all rushers in 2015 with Charles on the shelf, and he finished with 634 rushing yards on 160 carries in the process.
Related Story: Kareem Hunt has arrived
Spencer Ware broke out nicely in his third year for the Chiefs last year but unfortunately that timeline is now interrupted after being placed on injured reserve. It forced Kareem Hunt to the front of the pack, a rare moment for Andy Reid’s offense, but the talent was definitely there that let them breathe easy. Hunt put everyone on notice last night with nearly 250 yards from scimmage, a monstrous performance that gave fans hope for even more of that in the weeks to come. If Hunt can keep up with even a fraction of that pace, he might up as the best rookie back in Andy Reid’s coaching history.