A Kansas City Chiefs fan’s guide to the 2019 Draft: The Running Backs

The Top Running Backs

Joshua Jacobs, Alabama

Joshua Jacobs is almost universally considered the top running back in the 2019 class. He is widely considered the only first round running back in this draft. He’s an incredibly talented player. However, Jacobs is going to be drafted well before the Chiefs should even remotely consider taking a running back so let’s just move on.

Damien Harris, Alabama

Alabama lands two backs in the top five of this draft class with Jacobs teammate Damien Harris also being a highly coveted prospect in his own right. Harris looks the part of an NFL starting running back with a powerful frame. He’s not an elite home run hitter out of the backfield but he is very quick to the hole and rarely loses yards. He’s not a huge tackle breaker but he is shifty for his size and his legs are always churning to move him forward. He also has good hands coming out of the backfield. Harris may be slightly underrated due to Jacobs getting more of the spotlight at Alabama, but Harris looks like a featured NFL back for most NFL teams.

David Montgomery, Iowa State

David Montgomery of Iowa State may be one of the toughest runners I have watched in recent years. He uses his 5-foot-10 and 222-pound frame to battle and scrap for every yard possible. He may not be an explosive player (only a time of 4.63 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the combine), but he is often compared to former Chiefs back Kareem Hunt because of his refusal to go down on first contact and ability to create yards where others wouldn’t.

Montgomery is also a decent weapon out of the backfield and should immediately be a starting option at the NFL level. If the Chiefs were looking to try and replicate what they had with Hunt, Montgomery would be the way to go.

Devin Singletary, Florida Atlantic

If David Montgomery is the closest thing to Kareem Hunt the Chiefs could find, Devin Singletary may not be that far behind. If Singletary (5-foot-7, 203 pounds) was two inches taller and 20 pounds heavier he would likely be my favorite back on this page. However, he is such a tough runner for a player his size that I worry a little about his durability in the NFL.

Typically you want a back his size to be the change of pace, home run hitter type, but Singletary is as good at finding holes and fighting for yards as any back in this draft class. While he has the quickness to get to the next level, Singletary (like many other RBs in this class) didn’t show big time breakaway speed with a 4.66 forty time at the combine. If he slides because of his size and 40-yard dash time, he’ll end up being a steal for some team and likely contribute as part of a rotation from day one.

My Pick:

Darrell Henderson, Memphis

If the Chiefs were going to take a running back earlier than most anticipate now that they’ve signed Carlos Hyde my pick would be Darrell Henderson of Memphis. If you could sum up Henderson’s game in one word it word be explosive. The guy just explodes through holes and is by far the biggest home run threat in this draft—not because of his elite top speed but because of his ability to spot holes and quickness to get through them. He just gets to the second level better than most backs I’ve seen.

Over the past two seasons, he averaged almost NINE YARDS PER CARRY. That’s insane. If Henderson was added to the already potent Chiefs offense and he split time to keep his legs fresh, he would be a devastating weapon for Andy Reid to play with to take advantage of defenses that were already stretched thin trying to stop Patrick Mahomes and the passing attack. With that much space to play with Henderson would have a field day.

Next up let’s look at some big bodied power backs.