Eric Bieniemy: Damien Williams is the Chiefs lead running back
By Matt Conner
Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy made it very clear in OTAs on Thursday that the team’s lead running back is Damien Williams‘ job to lose.
For those who thought there might be some element of a committee approach, Eric Bieniemy wants to make it clear. The backfield of the Kansas City Chiefs belongs to Damien Williams.
While most fans and analysts expected Williams to be a major contributor for the Chiefs this season out of the backfield, the idea of the former Dolphins back as some sort of bell cow wasn’t quite set. After all, the Chiefs invested heavily at the position this offseason, at least in terms of new bodies brought in to compete on the roster.
Carlos Hyde was signed to a one-year deal in free agency, and the Chiefs added Darwin Thompson in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. In addition the team also brought in James “Boobie” Williams as an undrafted free agent, a pass-catching specialist who has the skill set to surprise in training camp. And we haven’t even mentioned holdover second-year pro Darrel Williams who made the team as an undrafted free agent out of LSU in 2018.
Williams was an unlikely choice for this sort of role even at the midpoint of last season, when the Chiefs employed Kareem Hunt as their starter and Spencer Ware as his primary backup. Yet when the Chiefs found themselves back against the wall having to release Hunt at a moment’s notice, it was Williams who stepped up and never relinquished the spotlight at a key time for the Chiefs. The backfield could have been vulnerable in that moment, but Williams excelled in the interim and rewarded Brett Veach’s vision for what he could be away from Miami.
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Speaking of rewards, the Chiefs already thanked Williams with a two-year extension in December that will keep him in K.C. through 2020. Now Bieniemy wants him to know that the team is preparing to feature him and no one else in the backfield. Despite the presence of so many others, the starter’s reps already belong to Williams. That’s an unforeseen level of security for a player who was No. 3 on the depth chart only several months ago.