Kareem Hunt’s workload is increasing under Matt Nagy
By Matt Conner
The Kansas City Chiefs are leaning heavily upon rookie running back Kareem Hunt as the season is coming to an end. Here’s hoping he’ll be okay.
The stats are clear. As long as the Kansas City Chiefs commit themselves to giving rookie running back Kareem Hunt a decent workload, the Chiefs will likely defeat their opponent. You can go inside the math here, but even the eye test suggests that’s the case.
During the team’s serious midseason slump, the team clearly abandoned the run at several key points. The team’s losing streak began in Week 6 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, a game in which Hunt only had 9 carries compared to 29 the week before. During the team’s skid of six losses in seven games, Hunt had single digit carries in 3 of those games—all three were losses (Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets).
More from Arrowhead Addict
- Former Chiefs cornerback in legal trouble in Las Vegas
- Chiefs Kingdom: Get ready to break contract news
- Chiefs news: Travis Kelce wants to host fan ‘chug-off’ in Germany
- Podcast: Breaking down the Chiefs biggest roster battles
- KC Chiefs send Dave Merritt to NFL coaching accelerator
Once Andy Reid handed the reins of offensive playcalling to Matt Nagy, the team’s offensive coordinator, Hunt has clearly become a key cog in the offense (and consequently, the team’s success) again. In fact, the team is leaning upon Hunt more than ever in their current three game winning streak. Hunt is averaging 150 yards from scrimmage per game during Nagy’s stint calling plays. It sounds like everything is clicking as it should.
It will be interesting to see how Hunt holds up as the season wears on, especially as the Chiefs venture into January. Will Hunt wear down having never endured the rigors of an NFL regular season (which includes several more games than college)? Will he remain the centerpiece to the team’s offensive success? Does it hurt Hunt over the long haul for the team to grind him at this rate?
Are you concerned at all? Just glad for the success? Sound off in the comments below.