To say that the Kansas City Chiefs' rookie class has been a disappointment would be unfair and inaccurate. Only Omarr Norman-Lott failed to live up to the hype, but it's not his fault that he suffered a season-ending injury.
That being said, it still feels like GM Brett Veach dropped the ball here. This class was absolutely stacked at the running back position, and he should've either acquired an additional pick to find a true workhorse back or used one of their picks on one of the many rookies who have taken the league by storm this season.
The Chiefs Are Paying for It Now After Failing to Improve at Running Back
The Chiefs knew that Isiah Pacheco wasn't as aggressive as he was earlier in his career following his leg injury last season. Even if he were, he would most likely be gone after entering free agency at the end of the season. Obviously, the aging Kareem Hunt wasn't much of a long-term solution, either.
This team rolled the dice on Brashard Smith in the seventh round. There were some red flags over his head as a wide receiver converted to running back, and while he's shown flashes, it's clear that the Chiefs still don't trust him to have a featured role in the offense. The Chicago Bears took Kyle Monangai five picks later, and he's looking like a hard-hitting back with a bright future in this league.
Of course, players like Ashton Jeanty or Omarion Hampton were always going to be out of their reach. Still, we've seen guys like Cam Skattebo, Woody Marks, Trevor Etienne, and Bhayshul Tuten look like legitimate bell-cow running backs, and they all went in the fourth round. They could've also gone after someone like Ollie Gordon, who went in the sixth round, or seventh-round pick Jacory Croskey-Merritt.
It's easy to judge after all that has transpired. There is no exact science to the NFL draft; if there were, the Cleveland Browns would have finally found a QB at this point. Even so, knowing this team's deficiencies in the running game, Kansas City should've addressed the position much earlier in the draft or in free agency.
Fast forward to today, and the Chiefs still don't have a primary ball-carrier, with Pacheco out with another injury, Hunt providing little to the offense outside of goal-line and short-yardage production, and Smith only playing sparingly. Patrick Mahomes is averaging the third-most rushing yards per game on the team (28.8), and that's rarely a recipe for success.