The Kansas City Chiefs are 3-0, yet plenty of questions are being asked about their offensive upside (a Carson Steele-led backfield among them), concerns that carry over from the second half of last season.
While the on-field product may not be as visually appealing as we’d like, Kansas City still ranks third in offensive success rate while ranking better than the NFL average in percentage of drives that reach the end zone and yards per play.
Our expectations are remarkably high for this offense, and that’s important to remember. “Underachieving” by their lofty standards is one thing, but the Chiefs are still a more than capable offense, which creates a positive environment for their fantasy football weapons.
Can you count on any of Kansas City’s running backs?
Should You Start Carson Steele, Samaje Perine, and/or Kareem Hunt in Week 4?
All stats are from TruMedia unless otherwise stated.
Carson Steele’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
Isiah Pacheco vacated 20.5 touches and 94.5 total yards per game, a role that Steele seems poised to assume the majority of.
He’s obviously not Pacheco, but Steele runs with a similar “hit or be hit” style. That allowed him to pick up at least five yards on 47.1% of his carries, as he got his first taste of an RB1 role that he should hold through October at the very least.
This role is going to land Steele around RB20 in my rankings on a consistent basis for the foreseeable future, with a slight adjustment in either direction based on the matchup.
With the uncertainty around Kareem Hunt’s involvement and the fact that the Los Angeles Chargers’ defense owns the third-highest rush success rate thus far, Steele is a Flex play for me more than an RB2. Nevertheless, I’m still playing him in most spots in which I have him.
Carson Steele getting through the hole by any means necessary, using a little hop to fit through and gain positive yardage. #ChiefsKingdom #stcf #chiefsvsbengals pic.twitter.com/5RW32uFnPJ
— Steeler Thoughts, Chief Feelings (@stcf715) September 16, 2024
Samaje Perine’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
The idea around Samaje Perine was that his third-down role would add a dimension to KC’s offense. However, with Hunt’s addition, is there enough volume to justify keeping him?
Long term, I’d argue no, though I would advise hanging onto Perine through this week at the very least as we get a feel for what this three-headed committee looks like.
Perine got his hands on the ball nine times last week in Atlanta — I view that much more as a ceiling than an expectation.
Kareem Hunt’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
Hunt was left on the practice squad last week, something that is changing in short order as the Chiefs attempt to replace the massive hole left by Pacheco.
Last season with the Cleveland Browns, Hunt scored nine times during the regular season, not to mention a pair of trips to paydirt in the playoff loss. But was he a little lucky to return fantasy production at that level?
In consecutive seasons, the now 29-year-old has posted career lows in both yards per carry before and after contact. In a backfield with many similar options that appear destined to be an aggravating committee, a lack of efficiency is a deal breaker.
Hunt should be rostered due to the uncertainty of touch distribution in one of the league’s best offenses, but he’s nowhere close to starting consideration until we see some proof of concept.