The running back situation is not as clear cut
I started training camp thinking the Chiefs running back situation was pretty simple. Damien Williams would be the starter. Darwin Thompson was a draft pick they would slowly integrate into the offense as a weapon. Carlos Hyde would be the primary backup when it came to being an every down back unless Darrel Williams could outplay him and make him expendable. Recent events have made that a little more complicated.
Damien Williams has missed all of camp with an injury and, in his post practice interview, Andy Reid didn’t sound real pleased about it. Hyde and Darrel Williams have been splitting a lot of the first-team reps and I simply don’t feel comfortable making a prediction between those two until we see how they perform in preseason games.
Thompson is still a guy that I’m a fan of, but he looks like a rookie still trying to figure things out. To my eye, he is clearly behind both Hyde and Darrel Williams in terms of the trust of the staff. Thompson did get a few first team reps while I was there and was put in motion and moved around a lot. I can see Reid trying to use him in that manner, but he didn’t get a lot of work with the first string as a pure runner while I was there, even with Damien Williams out.
To complicate things further, Tremon Smith was moved from cornerback to running back and could be used in the same manner I was just talking about with Darwin Thompson. Smith obviously has an uphill battle to learn Reid’s offense this quick especially coming from a defensive background. However, if he shows some explosive upside Reid might be tempted simply by the “gimmick” plays he could draw up for Smith while guys like Hill, Watkins, and Hardman are all on the field too. Plus Smith has value as a return man.
If he flashed enough, could Smith push Thompson to the practice squad? Would the Chiefs risk that? I don’t think they’ll see Thompson or Smith as candidates to be an every down running back should Damien miss time, so I don’t know if they would be able to keep them both on the active roster.
I simply can’t imagine the Chiefs keep five running backs and a fullback so one or two of those guys I just mentioned likely won’t make the team. This is one of the positions that I’m most intrigued by going into the preseason games and the least confident in predicting how the final roster will turn out. Finally, one last takeaway…