The Kansas City Chiefs could start the season tomorrow and they’d probably feel pretty good about their running back group.
They have playoff superstar Damien Williams leading the pack, with Darwin Thompson and Darrell Williams behind him. They’ve added a number of players to compete for one of the RB spots this offseason including Marcus Marshall, Elijah McGuire, and Mike Weber. They have plenty of competitive depth on the team, but are they leaving too much to projection?
Looking to the future, the only player under contract beyond 2020 is Thompson. They need to explore adding another successful, young and controllable player in the draft. Here’s a look at some of the players they could consider adding in each round of the 2020 NFL draft:
Round 1 – Wisconsin RB Jonathan Taylor
Taylor has been the most productive running back in college football over the past three seasons. During that time he’s amassed over 6,500 scrimmage yards and 55 touchdowns on 968 touches. That’s a crazy amount of production, but also a lot of mileage, which is something NFL teams take note of. Another area of contention is that Taylor isn’t much of a pass protector compared to other prospects. Something else that’ll be a problem with NFL teams is that he fumbles, with 18 fumbles during his career.
Kansas City Chiefs fans wouldn’t be too thrilled if the team took decided on RB in the first round, but QB Patrick Mahomes might be singing a different tune. Mahomes is a fan of college football and he appears to be a fan of Taylor too. He didn’t just give Taylor a shoutout during the Heisman Trophy race, but he also took notice during Taylor’s eye-popping performance at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
You know what they say in situations like these: Game recognizes game. Maybe Chiefs Kingdom would warm up to the idea of drafting a running back in the first round if it’s one that has the endorsement of the MVP.
Round 2 – LSU RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Edwards-Helaire caught national attention during the LSU Tigers pursuit of the National Championship title in 2019. During the course of the season, he amassed nearly 2,000 scrimmage yards on 270 touches, adding 17 touchdowns.
This is a guy who can catch, block, and does a lot when he has the ball in his hands. He forced 71 missed tackles and created a ton of yards after contact. He moved the chains 67 times for the LSU offense. The one thing he is lacking is homerun speed, but he’s not the type of player that needs speed to win. The Kansas City Chiefs have plenty of those types of players anyways.
I’ve seen Edwards-Helaire compared to Brian Westbrook on many occasions. Andy Reid’s offenses ran through Westbrook in Philadelphia from 2004-07. The idea of recreating that type of impact in Kansas City would certainly be appealing.
Round 3 – Utah RB Zack Moss
Moss is one of the most successful running backs the Utah Utes have ever seen come through their program. In 2019, Moss set career franchise records for carries, rushing yards, 100-yard rushing games, rushing touchdowns, and total touchdowns. His performance in the 2019 season alone earned him PAC 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors.
The lack of a pro day and medical visits with teams to check out his previously injured knee could hurt him in the pre-draft process. He didn’t run fast at the combine so that could certainly hurt him, but his game isn’t exactly about speed either. He has vision, contact balance, elusiveness and power. He’s often been compared to Marshawn Lynch because of his wild running style.
The Chiefs’ brass met with Moss in a formal interview at the combine. Moss described the meeting as “really good.”
Round 4 – Maryland RB Anthony McFarland
This is where we get back to the speed at the running back position. McFarland is a homerun threat who is very decisive and explosive. The issue that some teams seem to have with him is that he dealt with a high ankle injury in 2019 and regressed from a dominant late-season run in 2018. His game against Ohio State in 2018 might be the single-most dominant tape any RB has in this class.
McFarland met with the Chiefs at the combine, where he ran a 4.44 40-yard dash. McFarland has been compared to former Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles. It’s an impossible comparison to live up to, but if he’s even part the player that Charles was, he’s worth taking a shot on.
Round 5 – Florida RB Lamical Perine
At 5-11 and 216 pounds, Perine fits the mold of the prototypical Chiefs running back. He has good field vision to go with a great combination of patience, burst, and contact balance. He also does a great job getting tough yards in the red zone. He’s proven to be a really good pass-catcher, which should appeal to Kansas City. In 2019, he caught 40 passes for 262 yards and five touchdowns. Prior to that season, he’d only caught 28 passes in his career.
At the Senior Bowl, Perine was among the standout players during the week of practice and during the game. That is always a bonus for a team like the Chiefs. There’s also the NFL pedigree as Perine’s cousin, Samaje, was drafted by the Washington Redskins. He currently plays for the Miami Dolphins but hasn’t seen much in the way of success so far during his career. That’s not necessarily indicative of what will happen with Lamical because the two are very different players.
Round 6 – Illinois RB Reggie Corbin
Corbin has been a favorite of mine for a long time. He regressed a bit in 2019 after having a tremendous 2018 season with the Fighting Illini. In 2018, Corbin rushed for 1,085 yards, which is good for the 10th-most by a running back in the history of the Illinois program. His 8.48 YPC average in 2018 ranked third in the entire FBS. If a team can find a way to get that type of performance out of him with regularity, he could be a dangerous weapon in the NFL.
Illinois was one of the few schools to hold their pro day before the coronavirus shut them down for good. The Chiefs did have a scout in attendance, so Corbin should definitely be on their radar. They’d have to acquire a sixth-round pick were they to draft him as they currently don’t have any draft capital after round five.
Round 7 – South Carolina RB Rico Dowdle
Dowdle has some juice to his game. He finds rushing lanes and runs hard, which is something that NFL coaches will enjoy. He also has some surprising burst and defenders don’t seem to expect it from him. One thing that is a concern is that Dowdle has only managed to stay healthy for one full season. He’s never been relied upon as the bell-cow running back and often finds himself in timeshare situations.
His testing at the combine proved that he’s the athlete to match his intriguing tape. He ran a 4.54 40-yard dash, had a 38-inch vertical jump, and a 127-inch broad jump. He looked pretty good going through all of the drills too. This could be the type of low-risk option late in the draft that the Chiefs could turn into a star. They would, of course, have to trade and acquire a seventh-round pick in the draft.
