The Kansas City Chiefs have climbed back to .500 after a slow start to the season. But one of the main things the Chiefs would like to figure out going forward is their running back situation.
Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt haven’t been explosive options for the Chiefs' backfield, and many are clamoring for rookie Brashard Smith to get a bigger role. While those cries have grown louder with each three-yard carry from the offense, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid may have hinted the rookie's time is coming with his comments during Thursday’s press conference.
“Being able to handle it is half the battle from a mental standpoint,” Reid said of Smith’s ability to handle a bigger role in the offense, via Sports Radio 810 WHB in Kansas City. “He’s picked it up well. He’s in a good room where guys can help him and have done some of these things that we’re asking him to do. …He’s willing to listen. He’s a very humble kid and he works hard.”
Brashard Smith’s Breakout Could Be Imminent After Andy Reid’s Comments
Smith has the uphill climb that any rookie running back must face when entering the NFL. The difference between Smith and those other running backs is that this is only his second year playing the position. He began his career as a wide receiver at Miami, catching 69 passes for 770 yards and four touchdowns, before switching to running back at the suggestion of SMU coach Rhett Lashlee.
According to ESPN’s Dave Wilson, Lashlee even suggested that Smith emulate Pacheco in his new role, helping him rack up 1,659 yards from scrimmage and 18 total touchdowns for the Mustangs last season. That production put him on the Chiefs' radar ahead of the draft, and Kansas City pulled the trigger by adding him in the seventh round.
With an explosive ability on the ground, along with the bonus of being a contributor in the passing game, Smith popped right away during training camp. But the rookie had an uneven preseason and has just seven carries for 24 yards and three catches for 27 yards over the first three weeks. Things have been trending in the right direction, however, and Patrick Mahomes suggested that Smith could continue to be fed a larger role, as they enter a Week 5 matchup on Monday Night Football against the 3-1 Jacksonville Jaguars.
“He’s done a great job,” Mahomes said via Charles Goldman of A to Z Sports. “Just like any other rookie in this offense, you give him more and more every week. It helps that he played receiver because he can run routes, and running back because he can run between the tackles.”
The Chiefs may want to take things slowly with Smith, like they did in Pacheco’s rookie year, who didn’t get his first start until Week 7 of the 2022 season. But with Pacheco (32 carries, 127 yards) and Hunt (36 carries, 115 yards, TD) having limited success on the ground, Smith seems capable of providing what the other running backs on the roster can’t.
That’s why the comments by Reid and Mahomes bode well for Smith’s future. Whether his time comes in Monday night’s game against the Jaguars or soon thereafter, the writing appears to be on the wall in Kansas City.