Ahead of a Thanksgiving matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs’ running back room has become a crowded place. The Chiefs already had a tandem of two plodding runners in Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco, and they added to the mix when they claimed Dameon Pierce off waivers this week.
With a short build to Thursday’s trip to Dallas, the Chiefs don’t have a lot of time to sort things out. The backfield became even more cloudy when ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on Monday night that Pacheco is targeting the Cowboys game to return from a knee injury that has sidelined him since Oct. 27.
Although there is plenty of chaos for the Chiefs right now, there’s one thing that has some clarity, and that is Pacheco’s return and the addition of Pierce spells doom for rookie running back Brashard Smith.
Brashard Smith’s Star Continues to Fade Amid Isiah Pacheco’s Return
Smith’s star has been fading for a while as his touches have plummeted during Pacheco’s absence. After getting a career-high 14 carries against the Las Vegas Raiders on Oct. 19, Smith has just 12 total touches in four games, including just nine touches in the three games Pacheco has been injured.
But it’s not like Smith has been productive with those opportunities. In the Raiders game, Smith racked up just 39 total yards and 2.8 yards per carry. Success on the ground has also been hard to come by in the last four games as he’s managed just 20 yards and 2.9 yards per carry on seven attempts.
Smith’s receiving numbers, five catches for 39 yards, have been a silver lining, but they’re not enough to fix the Chiefs’ issue running the ball. Kansas City currently ranks 17th this season with 4.3 yards per carry. While nobody has picked up the explosive plays that Smith is capable of providing, Pacheco has been their most efficient runner, leading running backs with 4.2 yards per carry and a 59.0% success rate, according to Pro Football Reference.
Of course, this was an issue before the Chiefs added Pierce. While Pierce has just 735 yards and four touchdowns on the ground over the past three seasons following a strong rookie campaign, he showed that he’s still a capable runner, running for 176 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries in the Houston Texans’ season finale against the Tennessee Titans last season.
Even if that was a meaningless game filled with backups, it’s more than Smith has shown during his time in the NFL. Pierce’s arrival, combined with Pacheco’s potential return, siphons more carries away from the rookie, and it could be the beginning of the end when the Chiefs take on the Cowboys on Thursday afternoon.