Darwin Thompson
Confession: I’ve been a Darwin Thompson fan since he made my “Draft Crush” team after scouting him before the NFL draft. I think he’s a guy who can be a legit weapon in Andy Reid‘s offense. Here’s the thing though: I don’t think he’s a standard, every down running back in a traditional sense. Can he run the ball? Absolutely, but the guy is a major factor when you give him a little space to work with. If you just, I don’t know, line him up in short yardage and have him run straight forward on a delayed run, you’re not playing towards his strengths.
Andy Reid is a master of stretching out a defense and making them defend the entire field. That creates space for guys to make plays, and I really believe Thompson could be one of those guys. I didn’t see anything on Sunday that made me think Thompson should replace Darrel Williams in a traditional running back role. However, I do think an offensive mind like Reid can find some plays to create space for Thompson in K.C.’s regular offense when defenses are more concerned about guys like Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce.
Thompson put up 110 total yards and two touchdowns on 21 combined touches Sunday on a day where he was one of the primary weapons on offense. That included 7 receptions for 65 yards. I saw a guy who has some juice and can create yards in the open field, and I’d love to see the Chiefs try and exploit that a few times per game, similar to what they used to try to do with DeAnthony Thomas.
Next up, the defensive player that improved his stock the most.