Kansas City Chiefs: 3 position battles heating up after preseason Week 1

Running Back

Players: Damien Williams, Carlos Hyde, Darrel Williams, Darwin Thompson, Tremon Smith, Josh Caldwell, Marcus Marshall

Early in the offseason, the running back position wasn’t considered that much of a competition. The Chiefs will most likely keep four running backs and most fans thought there was a pretty clear top four for most of the offseason. However, after the first preseason game, this position battle is really starting to heat up.

About a week prior to the preseason game the running back competition got a little more exciting when the speedy, former cornerback Tremon Smith switched positions to become a running back. The excitement of adding another guy with 4.3 speed to the Chiefs offense (or the “Legion of Zoom” as it is now being called) is enough alone to at least place him in the conversation to make the roster. However, he didn’t do anything during the game to increase his odds, unfortunately.

The running back competition became a little steeper late in the game Saturday as well when Josh Caldwell rushed his way into the conversation. Caldwell, prior to his big 47-yard run late in the fourth quarter, was merely a local kid who was a long shot to make the roster, but after breaking tackles on his way to that huge gain and capping it off with a four-yard touchdown run he has legitimately propelled himself into the 53-man roster conversation.

The rest of the guys in this conversation are Damien Williams, who is virtually a lock to make the roster, and Darwin Thompson likely solidified his spot on the roster Saturday as well with a couple of athletic runs and a great touchdown reception. After that Darrel Williams and Carlos Hyde are the next two in line for the final running back spots and neither did much to help solidify their spots during the game Saturday. Yes, Hyde had a touchdown, but he also only had two yards on two carries. This leaves the door open for others guy potentially sneak onto the roster.

Could Smith’s speed or Caldwell’s excellent preseason week one performance be enough to steal one of the final two roster spots? At the very minimum, this group has become a much more exciting group to watch going into the second preseason game.