Who will be the Kansas City Chiefs back up running backs?

Kerwynn Williams

Kerwynn Williams certainly doesn’t look like a prototypical NFL running back. Standing only 5-foot-8, you would think that Kerwynn would be another third down scat back type of player, but you would be wrong. Of all the running backs on the Chiefs roster, the one with the most rushing yards last season (after Kareem Hunt of course) was Kerwynn Williams.

The Cardinals offense was supposed to be centered around David Johnson last season, but when he went down with an injury early in the season, it left them without their centerpiece and the offense never really recovered. They attempted to replace him with the once great Adrian Peterson, but he eventually ended up injured as well and the Cardinals turned to Kerwynn Williams to be their feature back over their final five games. Over that five game span as the feature back Kerwynn averaged 18.4 carries for 71.4 yards and 3.9 yards per carry. That’s not amazing by any means but as a fill in running back on a bad offensive team it’s not that bad either.

The other thing that Kerwynn has going for him is that he was the Cardinals primary kick and punt return man. If he can prove himself to be worthy of a roster spot for his special teams play (keep in mind the Chiefs don’t like to use Tyreek Hill as a kick return man, just punt returns) then anything he can add as a back up running back is just icing on the cake. Kerwynn hasn’t been a big factor in the passing game to this point in his career with only 15 career receptions.

The biggest thing standing in Kerwynn’s way of making the roster is probably Spencer Ware. If we assume the Chiefs keep either Damien Williams or West as a third down back, then Kerwynn would likely need the Chiefs to decide to move on from Ware in order to land one of the top three running back spots. If Ware is healthy and playing well then special teams could be his only chance at staying on the roster, especially if this final Williams has a good training camp.