KC Chiefs running backs ranked among NFL’s worst units

Clyde Edwards-Helaire is aware that he’s under the microscope heading into the 2022 season for the Kansas City Chiefs. As a former first-round pick, the Chiefs have yet to utilize him in ways that were expected back in 2020, and what opportunities he’s earned haven’t been all that productive. It’s not all that surprising, then, to see Pro Football Focus rank the Chiefs backfield as one of the worst in pro football.

PFF recently ranked all 32 teams’ running back rooms and only the L.A. Rams and Houston Texans came out worse than Kansas City on the list. Of course, that only goes to show how unimportant these rankings are, considering that the Chiefs and Rams are among the favorites to win this year’s Super Bowl.

Still, it’s disheartening to see the Chiefs’ talent pool at RB ranked so low, but there’s also a real chance for a surprise here. Edwards-Helaire came into last season recuperating from gall bladder surgery and struggled to stay healthy and effective all year. This offseason will be his first to really gear up for a pro season for the first time.

Pro Football Focus has ranked every team’s backfields heading into another NFL season and the Kansas City Chiefs graded among the worst.

The Chiefs also added Ronald Jones, who came very cheaply. However, there are reasons to believe he can do much better than the pedestrian numbers he put up last season as he works in a new offense in order to hit the market once again in 2023.

In addition to Jones and Edwards-Helaire, the Chiefs drafted Isiah Pacheco in the seventh round of this year’s draft shortly after general manager Brett Veach praised the late-round running back options in this year’s class. Clearly, he likes what he sees and believes in the potential of Pacheco to make an impact on the offense here.

The Chiefs don’t have a proven game-changing back at this point, but Edwards-Helaire was drafted to be just that and he has time to hit that ceiling. The Chiefs also have other promising young backs who hope to show what they can do as well. It will be interesting to see if the unit is as thin and weak as analysts project at this point or whether someone will step up and surprise.