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3 offensive crushes for the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2024 NFL Draft

With less than two weeks to go until the 2024 NFL Draft, teams are tightening up their big boards and making final preparations. The world champion Kansas City Chiefs have a solid roster, but a few problem areas to attend to. Today, we'll take a look at a few of my favorite offensive prospects for the Chiefs.

By Stacy D. Smith

NFL Combine
NFL Combine / Stacy Revere/GettyImages
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Ray Davis
NFL Combine / Kevin Sabitus/GettyImages

Ray Davis, Running back, Kentucky

Draft Projection: Round 3-4

With the departure of veteran back Jerick McKinnon, the Chiefs have a need for another body in the backfield. Isiah Pacheco is the clear-cut starter, Clyde Edwards-Helaire was brought back on a one-year deal, but the rest of the room is uncertain. The Chiefs did snare Deneric Prince as an undrafted free agent a year ago, but he spent much of the season on the team's taxi squad.

I've said this before, but it bears repeating: running back is the easiest position in the NFL to backfill. That said, it'd be wise for the team to consider an investment here given the injury history to both Pacheco and Edwards-Helaire. Enter Kentucky running back Ray Davis.

Davis began his collegiate career at Temple and later transferred and spent two years at Vanderbilt. He eventually moved on again and spent the 2023 season in Kentucky. He's older than most prospects in this class. Davis will be 25 midway through the 2024 NFL season. The silver lining is that he's as battle-tested a prospect as you'll find with 44 games logged in the NCAA.

Davis is a low-4.5 guy in the 40, but fortunately for him, he plays fast. On tape, it's not often that's caught from behind when he gets a full head of steam in the open field. The former Wildcat is patient in the backfield, but will need to keep his feet moving at the next level as he needs time to get to top speed. For my money, Davis is mostly a north-south runner. At the next level, I'm not convinced he has the burst to consistently challenge the edge.

The good news is that he operates well in congested areas and can "get skinny" through the hole. In Kansas City, one shortcut to the field as a running back is the ability to pass block. Davis is rock solid in pass protection, and that's one area where the Chiefs could stand another body with that skill set. Pacheco has grown considerably in that area, but McKinnon was the most reliable in that regard. It also helps that Davis had solid production as a pass-catcher. Overall, I think he's a good fit in Kansas City and would help to raise the floor of the running back room.

Two games to watch:
Kentucky vs. Florida
Kentucky vs. Louisville

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