The Kansas City Chiefs have attacked defenses with a high-powered air attack in the era of Andy Reid. Yet, even with perennial Pro Bowl quarterback Patrick Mahomes at the controls, this offense still needs help with the running game.
The defending Super Bowl champions are in a dilemma for their Week 3 showdown against the Atlanta Falcons. Lead back Isiah Pacheco is dealing with a lower leg injury and had to wear a walking boot this week. With the RB1 not listed in the two-deep, it’s time to see who’ll have to handle the backfield duties.
Who Is Samaje Perine?
Samaje Perine becomes the veteran option the Chiefs can turn to inside the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The 29-year-old joined the Chiefs in the 2024 offseason, which became his fifth NFL stop. Perine began his career as a fourth-round selection to the Washington Commanders in the 2017 NFL Draft.
The former Oklahoma Sooners back is yet to touch the football via a handoff. However, he’s caught one pass in the first two games of the year for the Chiefs.
Perine has racked up 1,830 total rushing yards with 14 total touchdowns on running and passing plays. He spent 2023 with the rival Denver Broncos — where he finished with 238 rushing yards.
Who Is Carson Steele?
Carson Steele is the newcomer, getting his elevation to the two-deep. The 6’1″, 215-pounder went undrafted out of UCLA in the 2024 NFL Draft. However, he showed enough versatility as a powerful runner, receiver, and blocker to earn his way to an undrafted free agent deal.
Despite not getting drafted, Steele averaged 5.1 yards per carry playing for the Bruins in ’23. He also led the Mid-American Conference with 1,556 yards in 2022 while suiting up for Ball State.
Steele is expected to handle fullback duties more with Perine projected as the RB1 in Pacheco’s absence. However, Reid’s words indicate Steele could see some touches.
Who Is Keaontay Ingram?
Ingram emerged as the third name Reid name dropped on Monday with reporters.
Like Steele, Ingram played for two universities. However, he played for a pair of Power Five conferences at Texas and USC.
Ingram tallied 2,326 total yards from scrimmage during his time in Austin, Texas. He also scored 17 total touchdowns. Ultimately, he had to share backfield duties with a young recruit named Bijan Robinson, who went on to become a top 10 draft selection for the Atlanta Falcons’ 2023 class.
After leaving the state capital of Texas, Ingram racked up a career-best 911 rushing yards in his lone campaign for USC in 2021. The past sixth-round selection of the 2022 NFL Draft has gone on to play in 20 total NFL games — all with the Arizona Cardinals. He has 134 career rushing yards in the league.
How Long Is Isiah Pacheco Out? Chiefs Also Add Familiar Face
By not having Pacheco, Kansas City won’t have its angriest runner and most versatile running/receiving piece. How long is Pacheco going to be out of action? Reid delivered this reaction on Monday.
“I don’t have a timeline on [his return]. It’s going to take a little bit of time,” Reid said.
While the Chiefs have the aforementioned remaining options available, depth was still a concern. So K.C. went ahead and brought back a familiar face in Kareem Hunt.
Hunt is best known for leading the league with 1,327 yards in his rookie season of 2017 under Reid. However, his time in K.C. became truncated when video of him surfaced kicking and shoving a woman on Nov. 30, 2018.
Hunt spent his last five seasons with the Cleveland Browns and racked up 2,285 yards on the ground. Yet, he’s never started in a full season since his rookie year nor surpassed the 1,000-yard mark.
As for whether Hunt will suit up, Ingram was the RB who won over Reid and earned the roster elevation over the veteran with Steele and Perine already on the 53-man roster.
“He (Steele) doesn’t say much. He just kind of goes in and does his thing and goes 100 miles an hour every play,” Reid said to reporters. “So that’s what he did this week, and he did a nice job with that time.”
This sounds like Reid wants to bring up the 29-year-old Hunt slowly as Pacheco is anticipated to miss as many as six weeks with his fractured fibula, per NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport.