Several Kansas City Chiefs wasted an opportunity against the Steelers

Carlos Hyde, Running Back

Damien Williams is the Kansas City Chiefs starting running back, but there appears to be room for another back (or two) to earn regular playing time with the starting offense. Damien only played the first series on Saturday and then the Chiefs gave the veteran Carlos Hyde a chance to show what he can do. The results simply weren’t good enough to sell me on keeping him around.

In Hyde’s prime, he was a multi-faceted threat as he made plays both running and catching the ball. Through two preseason games Hyde simply looks like he doesn’t have enough juice left to be that guy anymore. Through two games he has just 7 carries for 25 yards (3.6 yards per carry) and lost a fumble on Saturday as well. He has yet to make a reception and at this point all he can really offer over the other backs battling for a spot is experience.

As I mentioned before, Darwin Thompson has looked like an explosive weapon through two games. His nine carries for 52 yards is the best on the team on the ground through two games and he also has a 29 yard touchdown catch on his resume. What really may seal the deal for Thompson is that he has done a nice job in pass protection as well which was a concern with him coming into camp.

Hyde’s other competition for a roster spot is second year man Darrel Williams. While Williams’ stats—6 carries for 25 yards—isn’t much better than Hyde’s numbers, Williams is younger, cheaper, and plays on special teams which makes him a much more logical choice for a third running back.

With those things working against Hyde, he needed to show the Chiefs that he was too productive to cut loose. At this point in his career, it looks like his experience is all he really has to offer and it doesn’t look to me like that will be enough to keep him around.