KC Chiefs: Expect breakout game for Darwin Thompson vs Ravens
By Shade Piper
The KC Chiefs are off to a great start in the 2019 NFL Season. Unfortunately, the injury bug has hit them pretty hard early on and that could result in rookie Darwin Thompson getting a chance to shine this weekend.
First, it was Tyreek Hill in week one suffering a collar bone injury that is expected to sideline him for a month or more. Then last week, Damien Williams and LeSean McCoy both suffered injuries during the Kansas City Chiefs‘ victory over the Oakland Raiders.
Williams and McCoy both missed Wednesday’s practice and Williams didn’t practice again on Thursday while McCoy got in just a limited practice. This puts Williams’ availability for Sunday versus the Ravens as doubtful.
With Williams looking doubtful to play and McCoy at less than 100 percent, the next in line to step up for the Chiefs would be rookie Darwin Thompson. There was a lot of excitement surrounding Thompson amongst Chiefs Kingdom throughout the preseason this year, but he hasn’t really gotten an opportunity yet during the regular season.
His touchdown was cool and all, but the guys raved @DTRAINN5 for his block against a defensive end on the latest In The Trenches.
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) August 14, 2019
🎙 https://t.co/8OlQMh2Mxr pic.twitter.com/uU8Vkvtdnd
Ready or not, Thompson should get his opportunity this week thanks to injuries in Kansas City’s backfield. Thompson looked explosive during the preseason and if he is able to bring that same explosive play against the Ravens on Sunday, he should be in for a breakout performance.
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Despite being small in stature, Thompson is a true competitor and is not scared of anybody. You better believe that Thompson will be ready to go Sunday and the Chiefs are definitely going to need him to be ready.
Expect Thompson to go out there and play fearlessly with elusiveness and his great contact balance. This could add up to a breakout performance on Sunday. It would not be surprising at all to see Thompson not only have his breakout game, but also earn himself some more work going forward after this weeks matchup versus the Ravens.
While Thompson is only a sixth round rookie, there’s hope that he can be the running back the Chiefs lean on over the next few years. His ability to be used as both a runner and in the receiving game make him very appealing to Andy Reid and what he likes to do with his game plans. Expect Reid to put Thompson right to work on Sunday against a stingy Ravens defense.
To this point, Thompson has only notched one carry for one yard and caught one pass for three yards. That’s not exactly the production Chiefs fans were hoping to see from the Utah State product, but there are still 14 regular season games remaining and sooner or later, Darwin Thompson is going to make his presence known. My money is on sooner, as in this Sunday sooner.
Next. Top 15 Leaders in Rushing Yards All-Time. dark
The run game hasn’t been anything to write home about to this point, but Darwin Thompson has a chance to turn that around at Arrowhead Stadium this Sunday. Let’s hope he makes the most of this opportunity!