The Kansas City Chiefs' run game left much to be desired last year, ranking 26th in yards per game (101.2).
With Isiah Pacheco injured, it was up to Kareem Hunt to carry the load, and he was very productive (782 yards, seven touchdowns in the regular season). However, even when Pacheco returned, he wasn't the starting back, with Hunt the bell cow in the playoffs.
Pacheco will be playing on the final year of his rookie contract, while Hunt is back on a one-year deal, so the future of the running back room isn't set in stone...but it could be.
In Gilberto Manzano's latest mock draft for SI, it is Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson who hears his name called in the first round.
"The Chiefs pass on a tackle here and go all in with their risky signing of Jaylon Moore to play left tackle," Manzano writes. "Henderson can help this offensive line and Patrick Mahomes in various ways. His elite speed makes him a big-play threat, which they lacked in the backfield last year while rotating Kareem Hunt and a hobbled Isiah Pacheco."
That's a risk. And maybe a reach.
Speed is one element the Chiefs' run game lacked in 2024, it won't with Henderson.
Running a 4.43 40-yard dash, Henderson gives the Chiefs a great change-up from the bruising runners of Hunt and Pacheco to give the offense a burst of home-run speed.
Perhaps Henderson's best trait, however, is his pass protection. With their so-so offensive line, the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes will need this, so the move for Henderson could be two-fold.
But with Pacheco needing to prove something in the final year of his deal and the veteran Hunt still plodding along, adding Henderson as the future of the room might light a fire under both and spur this Chiefs offense to bounce back from the horror Super Bowl loss.
