Damien Williams has absolutely earned the right to be the Kansas City Chiefs starting running back heading into the 2019 season. With the week-eleven departure of a less-than-honest Kareem Hunt last season along with the late-season hamstring injury to the recently departed Spencer Ware, Williams stepped up admirably. He accounted for nine total touchdowns and 666 scrimmage yards in the 2018 Chiefs last five regular-season games and two playoff games combined. The position is his to keep, but is also his to lose.
Williams was a UDFA out of Oklahoma in 2014, when he signed on and made the Dolphins team in 2014. However, his tenure with the Dolphins was hardly stellar. In his first year, Williams rushed for only 122 yards on 122 yards on 36 carries. He also had 21 receptions for 187 yards and one touchdown.
Williams next four years were also rather lackluster. Entering the 2017 season, he was second in the running back depth chart behind Jay Ajayi. After the Dolphins traded Ajayi to the Philadelphia Eagles, Williams earned the starting running back spot ahead of Kenyan Drake. Williams started four games but suffered a dislocated shoulder injury in Week 12. With Williams out for 2 to 3 weeks, Drake emerged as the Dolphins go-to running back and effectively ended Williams’ career with the Miami Dolphins.
In his entire four seasons with the Dolphins, Williams racked up a paltry 477 rushing yards, but also had 108 catches for 733 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
No longer the Dolphins running back, Williams signed a one-year deal with the Chiefs in 2018. He is now the undisputed starter in the NFL (for the first time in his career) as a Chiefs RB.
Williams seems to be up for the challenge:
“I would say this is the first time. It’s something you’ve got to really work hard to (achieve). I came in undrafted. A lot of teams already had their main guy, so it’s kind of just keep your head up, fight and move forward.”
However, the peak age of an NFL running back is 27. Their rushing totals drop 15 percent in the first year after that, to 25 percent in year two, and almost by 40 percent by the age of 30.
The Chiefs have to ask themselves, how much gas does the 27-year-old Williams have left in the tank?
But wait, also in the mix for backup — maybe starting as the season progresses — are running backs: Darwin Thompson, Carlos Hyde, and Darrel Williams.
The San Francisco 49ers 2014 second-round pick Carlos Hyde has had five years to make his mark in the NFL. However, each year he failed. The closest he came to show the NFL community he ‘has what it takes,’ was in the 2015 season as the starter for the 49ers. In the 49ers opening game against the Minnesota Vikings, Hyde rushed for a career-high 168 yards on 26 carries with two touchdowns.
However, Hyde could never match the production of his 2015 season opener. Since then, he served as a journeyman running back with stints in Cleveland with the Browns and a year with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Chiefs signed Hyde in March of this year to a one-year $2.8 million deal.
Let’s add to the mix former LSU standout and 2018 UDFA Darrel Williams. I like Williams. He rushed for only 44 yards on 13 attempts and had but three receptions for 27 yards and one receiving touchdown for the Chiefs 2018 campaign.
Although he seems capable, the UDFA Williams just has not yet hit his mark. I honestly believe that he has it in him to be a go-to guy for the Chiefs, but he did not get it done, or maybe did not have the opportunity last year.
Rookie Darwin Thompson is an enigma to me. After the Chiefs 2019 draft, I submitted an article to another site where I graded the pick as a C+. Shame on me!
Had I to do it over again, I would have ranked Thompson as an A- or B+. He is a workhorse that overachieves. He keeps it low-key and just works. I dig that!
Did I say low-key? Silly me! Darwin talks the talk but can back it up.
In an interview earlier this year, the small 5 foot 8, Thompson compared himself to Detroit Lions great Barry Sanders (in a way, at least).
Unbelievable lift by @DTRAINN5 today…dude is 195 lbs. and handled 500 lbs. with ease on the Front Squat today…no belt or support of any kind and a FULL SQUAT #frontsquat #fullsquat #depth #freak pic.twitter.com/4FPDUzL3NN
— David Scholz (@coachscholz) July 20, 2018
“When I got to Utah State, it was the same offense that the league is really transitioning into — the spread. I think you’ll see a lot more value in the running back position as that gives running backs more running lanes; even more in the NFL with the hashes being so close. Just imagine Barry Sanders in today’s offense. He would kill the game. That’s what I plan on doing.”
“That’s what I plan on doing.”
The ever durable, always reliable, Anthony Sherman, of course, will continue to bulldoze for the Red and Gold in his fullback position. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that the Chiefs also keep a backup fullback, but I would not hold my breath.
My gut feeling is that Damien Williams withstands the storm — this year — and keeps his position as the Chiefs number one back. I also think that the Chiefs will enter the 2019 season with only these four running backs.
However, don’t be surprised that, if Williams should falter in his starting role for more than a week, Thompson, the young pup nipping at his heels, could wind up carrying most of the load.
Damien Williams would do well to heed the advice of baseball great Satchel Paige who once quipped,
Michael Travis Rose — ArrowheadOne
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