Carlos Hyde could be closer to the Chiefs roster bubble than expected

After Eric Bieniemy declared Damien Williams as the starting running back for the Chiefs, how much room is there for Carlos Hyde on the depth chart?

Earlier this week, Eric Bieniemy illuminated the way he views the depth chart as the team’s offensive coordinator, specifically when it comes to the heirarchy in the backfield.

Given the gathering of talent this offseason alongside the holdovers from 2018 on the roster, it made sense to think that there might be some legitimate competition for starter’s reps in Kansas City. That’s not true, however, as the Chiefs OC made it clear the starting halfback is Damien Williams.

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The news wasn’t exactly a huge surprise for anyone who saw Williams carry the torch from Kareem Hunt down the stretch for the Chiefs and he certainly deserves the chance to be the team’s primary running back. He not only averaged over 5 yards/carry last year for the Chiefs in a limited role (50 carries for 256 yards) but he also caught 23 of 24 total targets, an exceptionally reliable pass catcher who could hurt a defense in multiple ways.

Williams was exceptionally dangerous in the playoffs when he put up 154 yards from scrimmage in the team’s divisional win over the Indianapolis Colts and added 99 yards and 3 touchdowns in the team’s loss in the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots.

If Williams is now the lead back for the Chiefs, it leaves Carlos Hyde in a precarious spot. The team brought in Hyde on a one-year deal after a frustrating season spent with both the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars. The low-level contract handed out to Hyde this offseason looked like the perfect bounce-back scenario for Hyde moving forward, a once heralded back who needs to show he can be consistent and healthy in a high-octane offense. Given the one-year nature of his contract, it was easy to project a motivated player who could be the next great punishing runner in red and gold.

Now it stands to reason whether or not Hyde will even get that chance. The Chiefs have named Williams as the starter and everyone behind him on the depth chart suddenly takes on a different role. It would be different if Hyde had been mentioned as a 1A of sorts or a tandem back, but the Chiefs have a lot of exciting young talent beyond Hyde in the role—players they might not want to lose in waivers as they try to float someone to the depth chart.

In particular, the Chiefs still have Darrel Williams as a holdover from last season and two new imports that have fans excited for good reason. Darwin Thompson is an exciting sixth round pick who earned rave reviews as being nearly impossible to bring down at Utah State and Bleacher Report called him the most elusive back in the draft. Then as an undrafted free agent, the Chiefs added James “Boobie” Williams, a pass-catching specialist from Washington who could excel as a Charcandrick West type of role at scatback.

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Where does all of this leave Hyde? If the team is enamored with the potential and cheap rookie financials they have with the younger guys, it makes sense that Hyde could be on the roster bubble in training camp. That’s frustrating for a player who looked like a great, bruising addition alongside Williams in the offseason. Then again, nothing is given in the NFL and maybe this sort of competition is exactly what the Chiefs wanted all along.

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