The idea that Kareem Hunt will be easy to replace just because he’s a running back is misleading. Hunt’s production will be hard to reproduce.
On Friday night, the Kansas City Chiefs released running back Kareem Hunt.
Also on Friday night, much of Chiefs Kingdom moved on.
Within the last 24 hours, Hunt went from a star back on the NFL’s most potent offense to unemployed for the foreseeable future. When TMZ Sports obtained and released a video from last February’s physical altercation with a woman, it brought new evidence and perspective to the incident. Nine months ago, cross-complaints were filed accusing the other of assault and police ultimately decided against filing any charges. On Friday, it looked like Hunt’s side of things weren’t as initially described and he was punished for those actions (and the alleged lies he told the Chiefs in the first place).
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In the wake of the video surfacing and spreading like a California wildfire, Hunt immediately became a social pariah. Fans called for his quick release from the team. The Chiefs were blasted for their approach in the first place. The NFL and franchise were questioned about how much they knew back in February. Dissenting opinions soon arose to those early takes. Yet what was clear is that much of Chiefs Kingdom was finished. News broke. Opinions changed. Decisions were made. Fans were finished with Hunt.
In the midst of dismissive sentiments, however, one line of thinking arose on social media that made it that much easier to move on from Hunt. It’s an oft-quoted idea about NFL roster construction and it was applied to Hunt because he plays the position. Namely, Chiefs fans were not only angry at Hunt for his actions (and rightfully so), but they were also shrugging off his production. Running backs are, as they say, a dime a dozen.
There is a lot of truth in that statement as it stands on its own. A look at the list of current rushing leaders shows first round picks like Zeke Elliott and Saquon Barkley next to undrafted free agents like Matt Breida, Peyton Barber and Phillip Lindsay. James Conner was a third-round choice. Lamar Miller was a fourth-round pick. Jordan Howard was taken in the fifth. Carlos Hyde was traded for peanuts. Adrian Peterson was available for next to nothing.
Unfortunately for the Chiefs at this point, Hunt is not your standard running back. Hunt is also not above average or very good. Hunt is an elite young back, a well-rounded talent who is a two-way offensive threat who is also a willing and capable blocker. He’s dangerous in space, can match anyone’s level of physicality, has great vision and burst, requires significant effort to bring him down, can maintain his balance in seemingly impossible situations, and very good hands for his position. When needed, he can lift the franchise on his shoulders and become the workhorse who moves the whole unit forward.
Last season, Hunt had 1,782 yards from scrimmage and he led the NFL in rushing with 1,327 rushing yards. Hunt had exactly 774 yards from scrimmage more than any other rookie in Andy Reid‘s 20-year coaching history. The former leader is DeSean Jackson who had 1,008 total yards from scrimmage in 2008. In his second season, he’s once again among the top 5 in rushing yards, top 10 in yards from scrimmage and has found a greater nose for the end zone. In total, he had 25 touchdowns in 27 career games as a member of the Chiefs.
It’s possible, then, for both ideas to be true. Running back is the easiest position to fill in football, and Kareem Hunt was a special talent for the Chiefs. Will the Chiefs be able to replace him? Absolutely. Andy Reid can coach up anyone, and the Chiefs likely had the best overall stable of talent at the position in the first place. That said, there will undoubtedly be moments ahead when the current crop of running backs go down against a single tackler or fail to generate enough push to get the first down—moments when we’re all reminded that Kareem Hunt is missed on the field.