Kareem Hunt lands on the cover of Sports Illustrated
By Matt Conner
It was only a matter of time before the spotlight grew for Kareem Hunt after his historic performance. This week, he lands the Sports Illustrated cover.
The Kansas City Chiefs traded up in the 2017 NFL Draft to get Kareem Hunt because they felt there was something special about the University of Toledo running back. Of course, no one could have seen his debut coming—a historic night that not only toppled the defending Super Bowl champions on the road but included an NFL record 246 yards from scrimmage. That sort of opening performance landed Hunt on the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated.
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Hunt wasn’t the only Chiefs player who played like a man possessed last Thursday. Alex Smith had one of his finest games ever. Tyreek Hill proved he can be a No. 1 wide receiver. Justin Houston showed he’s healthy again. Marcus Peters shut down an entire half of the field, while Eric Berry turned Rob Gronkowski into a forgettable tight end. That doesn’t even account for an excellent offensive line, the presence of Travis Kelce and so much more—especially on the defensive end.
But Hunt was in the spotlight because of his incredible night as both a pass catcher and running back. When it came to the ground game, Hunt ran the ball 17 times for an incredible 148 rushing yards. He caught 5 passes for another 98 yards. He was a threat every single time, and even when rushing between the tackles, he was nearly impossible to bring down.
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It will be interesting to see how defensive coordinators adjust to bring more attention to slowing Hunt and what that means for the rest of the offense. It will also be interesting to see how Hunt adjusts to being a man in the crosshairs, so to speak. But for now he’s in the spotlight instead and deserves every bit of attention after such an incredible and memorable performance on the biggest regular season stage possible.