Chiefs: a 3rd Running Back is in the House

Laddie Morse

The Kansas City Chiefs have two Running Backs who appear to be sure fire bets to make the final 53-man roster this year in Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire. If the Chiefs stick to their previous plans of keeping 3 RB, that means they’ll have to select one more RB from a group that includes: Louis Rees-Zammit, Deneric Prince, Emani Bailey, Keaontay Ingram, Hassan Hall and Carson Steele. Let’s take a look at each of these choices and I’ll rank my favorites to make the 53. Pete Sweeney lays out the RB battle this way:

Louis Rees-Zammit

Louis Rees-Zammit (LRZ) is a former rugby player trying to learn the NFL game and while he has blazing speed, he may not be able to pick the game up fast enough to make the team this year. You’ll hear many people talking about endearing yourself to Special Team’s Coach Dave Toub if a rookie wants to make the team. Here’s Hayley Lewis interviewing Adam Teicher and he talks about LRZ, among others, who may have already captured the imagination of Dave Toub (0:59):

Is there a chance that if the Chiefs keep LRZ as a 4th RB, that someone else on the list above could be kept as the 3rd RB? I think that’s a possibility but that means someone somewhere else on the roster must be cut or released. LRZ runs a 4.43 40 yard dash but he also says he’s faster than that.

Deneric Prince

I thought Deneric Prince had a very good training camp prior to the 2023 season, enough that I thought he would be the one to make the final roster. Prince is back again this season and if the Chiefs don’t go for LRZ — which I think they will — then Prince may be the guy they keep. Prince runs a 4.41 40 yard dash, and while there is no stat that may be more important to a position than the RB position it is not the be-all end-all of stats for a RB. Here’s Prince running away from defenders:

I watched the game tape of Prince vs SMU and I wasn’t impressed. He had one breakaway run in a game that he had 19 carries for 86 yards. On the other hand, he has the exact same 40 time as Jerick McKinnon but is much bigger at 6-foot-0 and weighing in at 216 lbs..

Emani Bailey

Bailey runs a 4.61 40 yard dash and stands 5-foot-7 and weighing in at 202. Although he is a patient runner — which Reid will like — he was ranked 22nd in his draft class of running backs and was not drafted. The advantage of having a smaller RB is that he call get lost amonst the trees, meaning the OL. DraftBuzz.com says:

“Bailey has very good vision and a knack

for picking out cut-back lanes and then

breaking off chunks of yardage.”

Plus, Bailey averaged 5.9 yards per carry in his four seasons at TCU. Here’s Emani Bailey breakign tackles and scoring a TD for TCU against West Virginia in his Junior year (0:22):

Keaontay Ingram

Keaontay Ingram played his college ball at both Texas and USC, Then he was drafted with the 201st pick overall in the 2022 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals, before being cut that November. Ingram stands 6-foot-0 (5 ft 11+³⁄₄ inches) and weighs in at 221. GM Brett Veach has said before that he especially likes his running backs to be at least 6-foot-0 and 220 lbs., so Ingram meets that standard. ArrowheadPride has an article called, “Running back Keaontay Ingram could have an offensive impact in 2024” written by Ron Kopp in which he says:

“Over his two seasons in Arizona, Ingram was never utilized as the primary ball carrier; he topped out with 10 rushing attempts against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 6 of last season. He has only three career games with more than five carries. But Ingram’s fluid movements demonstrate how well he fits in zone running schemes; he can quickly change directions, which allows him to manipulate off-ball defenders trying to mirror him through traffic.”

Ingram runs a 4.53 40 yard dash, but often plays faster than that. Here’s a college TD run of his against Utah who was ranked #11 at the time (0:29):

Ingram pops the run outside and I’ve heard HC Andy Reid says he’d like to get a runner who can cut runs outside every now and then. So, Ingram could be that guy. Here, he is returning a kickoff in a Spring Ball Game and you can see his ability to cut laterally:

Here’s Ingram scoring his 1st TD with the Cardinals (0:12):

Here’s what DraftBuzz.com says about Keoantay Ingram:

“Shows a surprising burst to beat linebackers

to the edge. Can plant his foot in the ground

and explode, showing better straight-line speed

than expected.”

I may be going on about Keoantay Ingram, but when you find a player who looks and sounds wonderful, you have to keep following up on that guy. He’s my dark horse, but also my favorite… so far.

Hassan Hall

Hassan Hall is 5-foot-11 and weighs 196 lbs. and runs a 4.46 40 yard dash. Hall was not taken in the 2023 NFL draft, but was then signed by the Browns. He signed a deal with CLE worth $125,000 guaranteed as an UDFA. Hall was then waived on August 29, 2023, and re-signed to their practice squad. Hall was released from their practice squad on September 26, 2023. Hall also signed with the Arizona Cardinals but was cut… then signed with the New York Giants and was cut… and now he has signed a reserve/future deal with the Chiefs.

I’m showing you the following play because… although Hall runs around and makes a good play (for college) I don’t think this kind of thing will work in the pro game:

That may remind you (somewhat) of Dante Hall, but remember, Dante Hall ran a 4.29 40 yard dash… but this Hall does not. Dave Toub may be interested in Hassan Hall as a Punt Returner but otherwise, I’ not sure what his value is to the Chiefs.

Here he is making good cuts and showing off the speed he does have:

Carson Steele

Carson Steele played for Ball State in 2021 and 2022 then moved on to UCLA and played for them in 2023. Here are his stats:

Steele had an excellent Sophomore season at Ball Sate when he ran for 1,556 yards. That is likely the reason he moved on to UCLA as he wanted to play for a big name university, but his YPC (Avg) went from 5.4 as a sophomore to 5.1 last year. Steele stands at 6-foot-1 and weighs in at 225 lbs.. He may be more of a Full Back type of player and if the Chiefs go back to carrying a FB, he’s a possibility. Here’s UCLA against Colorado when Steele catches a TD pass:

Any time you are a RB and catch a pass out of the backfield, HC Andy Reid’s antenna will pick it up. Here’s another run by Carson Steele (below) and I’d say his foot was in so it was a TD. Although the ref counted him out of bounds, I slowed the video down and his foot clearly looked in to me (pic at left).

I would rank these RBs this way: