Chiefs fans spent the first several weeks of the season screaming at the top of their lungs about wanting to see more Brashard Smith. Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt weren't cutting it, and many in the Chiefs Kingdom were excited about what their talented rookie could do to juice the anemic rushing attack. His mini-breakout in Week 4 was a taste of what's to come, and Smith proved once again in Week 5 that he needs to be unleashed as soon as possible.
Smith was one of the few bright spots in Kansas City's disappointing Monday night loss to the Jaguars. The seventh-round pick made the most of his limited opportunities, catching three passes for 32 yards and adding four yards on one carry in the ground game. He added an average of 26 yards in his five kick returns to help the Chiefs get into good field positions.
Brashard Smith Is Chiefs' Highest-Upside RB
Smith demonstrated his ability to break tackles and make plays in each of his touches. Even though he wasn't able to find pay dirt, unlike Hunt, the former SMU star showed his explosiveness and playmaking ability. In fact, he received the highest overall offensive grade on the team with 85.7 on Pro Football Focus against Jacksonville.
However, he was limited to only six offensive snaps. In a game where Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs in rushing yards (for the third time in five games), Andy Reid's decision to give his highest-upside rusher only six snaps was certainly inexcusable.
Before the Ravens game last week, Reid had said that they were "trying to increase" Smith's playing time. The rookie then delivered his best performance of the season and played a season-high 19 offensive snaps. Only a week later, for some reason, Smith's role was reduced once again.
One can easily point to the fact that both Hunt and Pacheco had solid games, averaging 7.0 and 5.1 yards per carry on 7 attempts each. Giving more touches to your veteran rushers when they are playing well makes some sense on paper, but Smith only playing 8% of the team's snaps while Pacheco plays 62% and Hunt plays 33% does not.
It's not too late to right the ship, though. Recall that in Pacheco's 2022 rookie season we saw a similar situation. Despite impressing with 62 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries in Week 1, he only went on to play more than 10 snaps once in the next five games. Reid came around eventually though, and that season culminated with Pacheco racking up 262 yards on 43 touches across three playoff games in a Super Bowl run.
The Chiefs are 2-3 and have a very difficult matchup against the Lions in Week 6. Andy Reid and company need to start acting with urgency, and that starts with making the right decision in the RB room.