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KC Chiefs: Questions to address at running back in 2020 offseason

By Leigh Oleszczak

MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 02: Damien Williams #26 of the Kansas City Chiefs carries the ball against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium on February 02, 2020 in Miami, Florida. The Chiefs won the game 31-20. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 02: Damien Williams #26 of the Kansas City Chiefs carries the ball against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium on February 02, 2020 in Miami, Florida. The Chiefs won the game 31-20. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /
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Let’s continue going through each position on the KC Chiefs roster and looking at what questions might arise this offseason. Next up: running backs, which is a very interesting position for the team.

When football fans think of the Kansas City Chiefs, the first thing they’re going to think of is their explosive passing offense. That didn’t use to be the case though, as this franchise prided itself on having elite running backs for a number of years.

Times have changed, however, and the Chiefs are now a pass-first offense (though to be fair – so are a lot of teams in the NFL). This offseason should be interesting when it comes to how the Chiefs will treat the running back position.

Before we dive in more, let’s take a look at the current running back depth on the roster (listed alphabetically):

The biggest question Chiefs fans are wondering this offseason when it comes to the running back position is: What will the position really look like next season?

Damien Williams was the star of Super Bowl LIV and a strong case could have been made for him to win the MVP of that game, but prior to that performance, he wasn’t anything to write home about. The Chiefs run game was weak throughout the entire season, but stepped up when it mattered most.

Williams has battled injuries throughout his career too, which paved the way for Darrel Williams and Darwin Thompson to see the field this past season. Darrel did well in limited action, but was quickly injured himself and landed on the IR for the remainder of the year while Thompson mostly disappointed as a rookie.

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Even with all of this said, Williams more than likely enters the 2020 season as the RB1 on the depth chart barring injury or something unusual. Darrel Williams and Thompson are probably RB2 and RB3 behind him, but another big thing to ponder this offseason is will the Chiefs draft a running back?

Normally it’s silly to take a running back in the first round of the draft, but the Chiefs have the final pick in the first round, which makes it a little more realistic for them to take one at that spot. They could also opt to trade out of the first round all together, move back into the second round while gaining another pick, and take a running back with one of those selections.

There are some incredible running backs in the draft this year ranging from Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor to Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins to Georgia’s D’Andre Swift (the Chiefs have been linked to both Dobbins and Swift in previous mock drafts), so I wouldn’t blame Brett Veach for wanting one of those guys on this offense.

The passing attack is lethal and we’ve seen that to be true the past two years. The run game needs work, however, and while Damien Williams is probably the starter in week one, he’s only signed for 2020 and then becomes a free agent. The Chiefs need to start thinking about the future at the position and the 2020 NFL Draft might be the place to answer that question.

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