Kansas City Chiefs: The Ups and Downs of 53-Man Cuts

Darrel Williams makes the roster

The running back room has been stacked this preseason. One player that many had on the bubble of making the roster is UDFA rookie running back Darrel Williams. The LSU product has been one of my favorite additions to add depth to this offense and has been highly underrated.

During his time at LSU, Williams served as a backup to Leonard Fournette and Darius Guice. When you look at the caliber of both of those running backs, it’s not hard to imagine the Chiefs got a steal by picking up Williams after the draft.

Both Guice and Fournette are high draft running backs that are starters for their respective teams in the NFL. Guice will not play this season with an injury, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he could be a huge name in the NFL.

During the final game of the preseason against the Packers, Williams turned heads dominating the lower competition. While playing against second and third string defenses, let’s remember that he was playing with third-string offensive linemen. He ran the ball for 41 yards and another 19 in the air with a touchdown.

Darrel reminds me a lot of what we saw from Spencer Ware to open up the 2016 season. He’s a hard runner between the tackles that can move the pile. Even with his size, Williams showed the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield this preseason as well, something that he was not asked to do much of at LSU.

With Ware coming back from a season-ending injury, it makes sense for the team to keep four running backs. Outside of Kareem Hunt and Charcandrick West, Kansas City couldn’t find a third option last season. Having numerous players that can run in the same offense in case of injury makes a lot of sense.