It’s time for an in-depth dive into the Chiefs running backs, how they were expected to perform, and what that means for the 2020 season.
The Kansas City Chiefs had 13 different players with a rushing attempt this season: Damien Williams, LeSean McCoy, Patrick Mahomes, Darrel Williams, Darwin Thompson, Spencer Ware, Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, Sammy Watkins, Anthony Sherman, De’Anthony Thomas, Travis Kelce, and Matt Moore.
This partially has to do with Andy Reid‘s unique offensive play designs, using everything from reverses to screens to spinning Travis Kelce into the Wildcat. More than that, however, is the number of running backs that the Chiefs’ had on the roster this season.
Six different players took a snap at running back this season for the Chiefs (if you include Anthony Sherman). Only three of those backs were on the roster at the end of last season, with Thompson, Ware, and McCoy coming to the team in the offseason or during training camp. Each of the backs on the roster was truly unique, helping diversify the Chiefs’ offense that won a Super Bowl.
Let’s take a look at the Chiefs’ running back group in the 2019 season.
What we thought would happen?
Expectations were extremely low for the Chiefs’ running backs in 2019, not due a lack of talent at the position, but primarily due to the abundance of talent at QB and the emphasis the league and Andy Reid put on Patrick Mahomes and the offense. In a pass-first league, with a pass-centric offense, did the running backs even have the opportunity to succeed?
Despite the past success and experience of Lesean McCoy, he came in with the lowest expectations in the running back group. After an extremely disappointing 2018 season with the Bills, McCoy was cut right after the Bills’ last preseason game, and after an intense 48 hours of speculation, he made his way back to his long time friend and coach Andy Reid. In his prime, McCoy and Mahomes would have been an unstoppable duo, with explosive potential for every play on the offensive call sheet. Ten years later, and the 31-year-old back with injury and stamina concerns did not have the same potential.
Chiefs’ Kingdom was extremely hopeful for McCoy’s addition to the offense, but analysts were skeptical about whether or not he could go at all. The coaching staff seemed skeptical as well, by choosing not to deem mCCoy the premier back and announcing their intent to use a running back committee.
Early indications show the Chiefs’ had a low expectations for Damien Williams as well. The Chiefs picked up Carlos Hyde in free agency and he seemed set to start over Williams. Then, before the end of the preseason, the Chiefs send him to the Texans in a trade for Martinas Rankin, an offensive lineman. (Hyde would go on to start in Houston and have a great season.) With Hyde gone, Damien Williams seemed set to start at running back. That is until the Chiefs picked up McCoy.
Despite getting a decent contract extension towards the end of last season and having a solid showing in the post season, analyst, fans, and the team coaches seemed doubtful about Williams ‘ability to run the ball.
Where expectations were low for Damien Williams and McCoy, expectations were through the roof for rookie Darwin Thompson after an exciting preseason. Picked up in the sixth round of the 2019 draft, the Chiefs hoped to have found another surprise star at running back like they had with Kareem Hunt.
Thompson did have some shortcomings, with his pass blocking being at the top of the list. Fans and coaches hoped that after a while with Reid and Eric Bieniemy, Thompson would be able to be correct and overcome his shortcomings and become a legitimate threat at running back.
What actually happened?
When Patrick Mahomes is the quarterback of the K.C. offense, the attention of the media will largely be centered around the game’s best player. This was no different in 2019, where every analysts focused on Mahomes from week to week in any Chiefs-centric coverage. In reality, however, the Chiefs’ running backs were just as vital to the success of the team as Mahomes in some weeks.
This was not true every week, of course, especially early in the season, when Damien Williams and McCoy both hindered the offense (via poor production and/or turnovers). McCoy was harshly criticized for his untimely fumble against the Texans, and Damien Williams had fans second guessing his contract extension from last season by averaging 2.1 yards/carry through the first full half of the season.
Fans were certain of the Chiefs need at running back, with early draft projections from this period having the Chiefs picking a running back, specifically Travis Etienne from Clemson with their first round pick. When Chiefs’ Kingdom was not disappointed in the performance of the Chiefs’ defensive backs and linebackers, they were complaining about the lack of a ground game.
Then Patrick Mahomes got hurt.
Without Patrick Mahomes to do MVP things to help the offense prosper, the rest of the team was forced to step up and carry the load. Damien Williams saw the challenge and took advantage, as he slowly returned to the form we saw in the 2018 postseason. Heput the offense on his back at midseason and picked up 202 yards in Weeks 9 and 10. He rushed for a total of 426 yards during the last 8 games of the season. (For context, he had 498 rushing all year.)
Williams’ success did not end in the regular season either. Over three postseason games, Williams ran for 196 yards, caught another 94 yards worth of passes, and found the end zone six times. He caught a touchdown pass that took the lead in the Super Bowl and put the game on ice with his long touchdown run.
It’s fortunate that Williams wore the lead back mantle so well down the stretch. McCoy was completely absent during the late season and postseason, despite being the number one option at running back in the first half of the year. As the season went on, Mccoy was featured less and less in the offense and eventually became a healthy scratch. His ability to somehow turn a busted play into a positive one was exciting and helpful in keeping drives alive early in the year, but Damien Williams more then made up for that in the second half.
Thompson was used very rarely sparingly throughout the season, typically saved for rest during long drives and late game situations. However, during a stretch of games where both Damien Williams and McCoy were inactive, Thompson was given more snaps, which he split with Spencer Ware. During that stretch, Thompson showed coaches, fans, and analyst alike that the early concerns about his pass blocking were still a prominent issue.
What we learned
The 2019 season was a wild and confusing one for the Chiefs’ running backs, and it is hard to make any concrete takeaways for backs in 2020.
LeSean Mccoy maybe the easiest piece of the puzzle to figure out. In 2019, his stamina and age started to show prominently: fatigue keeping him out of games in the fourth quarter and the Chiefs were forced to rest him to stay fresh. His fumble issues also showed at inopportune times. Ten years is a very long career for a running back, especially one of McCoy’s size, and it showed in 2019.
Mccoy finally won a Super Bowl ring, however, and he was able to spend another season with Andy Reid. He also got to take handoffs from the new face of the NFL. He has a real chance at a Hall of Fame spot, and the only thing left to do is retire. Sure, other teams in the NFL could use a veteran running back on the roster (e.g. the Dolphins), but any GM would be hard pressed to pay Shady’s price for a player who can only go for 11 games in a season.
A few of the other running backs on the roster seem to have set destinies as well. Spencer Ware is probably going to hit free agency again after an injury saw him off to IR. After the performances he gave this season, it would not be surprising to see a team at least give him a shot on their roster.
Darrel Williams also had a very surprising showing in 2019 during Damien Williams and Mccoy’s absence. With 2020 being his contract year (before restricted free agency), expect him to play even harder next season for the Chiefs. Darwin Thompson’s rookie contract keeps him on the roster and hopefully he can spend time in the offseason and training camp getting better, or else he may be in a different jersey in a few seasons.
That brings us to Damien Williams.
Damien Williams has a team option on the third year of his contract, and at the time of writing, the Chiefs have not yet made a statement on whether or not they would be exercising that choice. (It has to be decided by the 18th of March.) With a tight cap in 2020 and a few long-term contracts that need to be finished, it’s possible the Chiefs could move on.
On the other hand, Damien Williams was a star in the playoffs and was possibly the second most important player on the team during the three-game stretch. He was arguably robbed of the Super Bowl MVP trophy, with his efforts being what sealed the deal for the Chiefs in the end General managers and team executives can argue that what matters most is production on and off the field, but in reality, moments and highlights have just as much weight as stats and analytics. With Williams’ long touchdown fresh on the minds of players and executives alike, Williams’ 2020 roster spot seems safer in the end.
If this were up to Damien Williams, the future would be extremely predictable. He has earned a much larger paycheck than he is getting in K.C. He is a Super Bowl champion with impressive highlights and experience playing with Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes. That is worth qjuite a bit of money and there are a few teams that would give him that money. The problem is, the decision is not being made by Damien Williams, it is being made by Brett Veach and K.C. executives.
Sadly, the decision on Damien Williams has to be made before the draft. What happens if Williams is allowed to walk, the team tries for D’Andre Swift or Jonathan Taylor and another team snatches them up? Nothing in free agency is guaranteed, even witih players who agree to a deal prematurely (see Earl Thomas), so what if the team tries for Austin Ekeler or Melvin Gordon and come up empty-handed?
The problem with playing it extremely safe and keeping Williams in the back pocket while going into free agency and the draft however is that Williams represents a $2.8 million dollar cap hit when the team is already struggling against the tight cap ceiling. Maybe the CBA gets approved and increases the cap space by a drastic amount that makes that number insignificant, but does that happen before March 18th (or at all)?
These are all question general manager Brett Veach has to be asking himself right now, and he is asking these questions about a player with a high ceiling and low floor. He has a history of success running the ball in the late season and playoffs, along with a history of not playing very well in the first half of the season.
It is all confusing and risky, but Chiefs Kingdom can be confident that given his track record, Veach is going to make the right decision and help elevate the team.