AO Spotlight: Chiefs New RB Kareem Hunt

It is perhaps with a sense of forgotten importance that we focus our attention on the Kansas City Chiefs newly drafted running back Kareem A.J. Hunt. It’s not often that the Chiefs have drafted a running back as high at the 4th round. In Andy Reid’s first season with the Chiefs he was involved in helping to draft RB Knile Davis in the third round. He’s now with the Steelers. Prior to Davis, it was Jamaal Charles nine years ago in the third round as well.

In this day and age of diminished values for running backs, it’s significant when a team drafts a RB in the first three rounds, especially the Chiefs.

Kareem Hunt went to a high school in Ohio and was a three-star recruit ending in his enrollment at Toledo. In high school, he gained 2,510 yards as a junior with 39 touchdowns and had 2,685 yards rushing and 44 TDs as a senior. Some will dispute the level of talent that Hunt faced at Toledo but Joe Delaney played at Northwestern State so we’ll need to wait and see instead of judging him now.

Let me say that I don’t think Kareem Hunt will be a huge breakout performer in 2017. He could be very good but he’s not going to be a Jamaal Charles or even a Larry Johnson. Hunt could end up being similar to LeSean McCoy… and when I say “like” I don’t mean a carbon copy… but he could have some of the attributes and some of the same production… not as much, but he should end up being a very good back, not great.

That said, Kareem Hunt should be able to help the Chiefs this season, more than Charcandrick West did in 2016. And that’s precisely what the Chiefs need right now, a complementary back who can give Spencer Ware a blow and perform well when he gets his turn

Let’s take a look at Kareem Hunt vs. Akron and then we’ll talk about it.

First of all, Kareem Hunt is touched by about three defenders, on average, before he is tackled. Sometimes he has six defenders who get a hand on him before he goes down. Now, he is playing at Toledo, so we’ll have to see how that translates to the NFL when the big boys get their paws on him.

Speed vs Explosion

Kareem Hunt is more explosive than he is fast. He has a 6.3 yards per carry average (YPC), which is good for college ball but the thing I like about his YPC average is that he only runs a 4.62, 40-yard dash. What that means is that he didn’t have a host of long break-away runs to pump his YPC up so, his 6.3 average looks even better in that light.

Plow-horse vs. Juke-n-Jive

Kareem Hunt is similar to Spencer Ware in that he doesn’t mind lowering his shoulder between the tackles and taking on blockers. However, Hunt is probably better than Ware at making a cut in the hole to avoid that first contact so… his lateral agility is excellent. Hunt knows how to “sit down in the hole” meaning that he can literally lower his butt and hold himslef up with his thighs while making a move one way or the other.

Some analysts believe that Hunt will be used primarily in the passing attack out of the backfield but the Chiefs already have a back like Spencer Ware to handle those duties. When Hunt comes into the game he should be getting the full dose of the playbook that will include passes in the flat but I can’t see him coming into games to be used for that purpose alone.

So, what do you think of Kareem Hunt? I hear that Charcandrick West is coming back strong this year so it will make for an interesting competition to see who takes over the number two running back spot.

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