Jerick McKinnon Completes the Chiefs RB Unit

Feature Photo by Steve Sanders

Running back Jerick McKinnon was drafted in 2014 out of Georgia Southern by the Minnesota Vikings in the 3^rd round. You may recall that RB Damien Williams – who helped K.C. to their first Super Bowl victory in 50 years – also came out in 2014, but was a UDFA with the Miami Dolphins. Williams ran a 4.45 – 40-yard dash and McKinnon runs a 4.41 – 40 (4.38 and 4.35 unofficially), plus, he may have some lateral juice that DWill didn’t provide.

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seasons (including the season the 49ers lost to K.C. in Super Bowl LIV). It looks like McKinnon will be a good back… if… he’s physically able to stay on the field. However, he did play on 34% of the 49ers offensive snaps in 2020 so it looks like he’ll be ready to go.

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On April 30, GM Brett Veach signed RB Jerrick McKinnon to a one-year contract worth $900,000 with a cap number of $850.000, and zero dollars Dead Money if he’s cut. When reviewing Jerick McKinnon’s tape, it’s hard not to notice that so many of his scoring runs and catches come at the goal line. McKinnon is 29 years old and this coming season will be his 8^th year in the league, and he may be even better at making those quick decisions in the red zone. He’s not only fast, but a quick and twitchy RB.

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While Andy Reid likes his RBs to be one-cut and go guys, McKinnon not only provides that, but on some of his plays he will wait on a hole to open up, then bolt to daylight. His first step is killer reaching top speed quickly. He may not have the top end speed of Jamaal Charles, but he’s very fast and can catch the ball, another requirement if you want to be an Andy Reid RB.

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First, I want to look at the goal line ability McKinnon gives the Chiefs. Here are three goal line plays where McKinnon makes the right decisions:

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An important part of being an effective running back is knowing when to use your speed or when to slow up and read the defense. Here McKinnon makes the correct read and cuts to his right, then to his left reading where the hole is and lowers his head to make contact at the goal line for the score. On the second play, McKinnon is reading the hole immediately and uses his speed to get there as fast as he can and covers the ball well with both hands as he moves in for the score. I’ve included this third play because it reminds me of a play Andy Reid would call at the goal line. McKinnon has just enough time to turn and scamper in for another score. It’s a timing route and QB Jimmy Garoppolo almost delivers the ball too late, likely because the play started from the left hash mark. Here’s three more plays by Jerick McKinnon at the goal line:

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On the first play, McKinnon uses his speed to get to the outside and jumps in at the pylon. On the second play, you can see McKinnon altering his speed to make the right cut through the right hole, following his blockers, then he jumps in at the pylon again. On the third play, McKinnon does an excellent job of jump cutting to his left to get into the end zone after reading the hole the offense had created to that side.

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With the offensive line the Chiefs have created this offseason, there will be holes to run through, and the RBs will just need to read those gaps and get into them. If they can do that, the running game will be much improved in 2021. The Chiefs ranked #16 in total rushing yards in 2020 with 1,799 yards, while the Baltimore Ravens led the league with 3,071 yards on the ground. While many of the Ravens rushing yards came from their QB, improving the running game of the Chiefs only makes their QB, Patrick Mahomes, better through the air. Which, should have every fan in the Kingdom smiling bigly right now because Patrick Mahomes is already the best there is through the air.

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The Downside of Jerick McKinnon

Jerrick McKinnon weighs in a 208 lbs. and more importantly, is less than 5-foot-9. Consequently, no one should be expecting McKinnon to get a lion’s share of the snaps at running back this year, or any other. In McKinnon’s first two seasons, when healthy, he averaged 5.0 yards per carry, but in his last three active seasons that was down to 3.8 YPC. His decline in yards per carry over his career is a concern, but is likely due to his injury history. McKinnon will also never be confused with Jerome Bettis, who was also excellent at the goal line. While Bettis bullied his way into the end zone, McKinnon will never be accused of doing that, but his decision making there is notable and I can see Andy Reid utilizing him as a red zone weapon. Not only because he is quick to make the right cuts, but because he’s also a receiving threat.

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Although I expect Clyde Edwards-Helaire to continue to get the starting role and Darrel Williams to get his share of snaps as a bigger body back, Jerick McKinnon will also provide a change of pace… because he offers pace. McKinnon is now the fastest RB on the Chiefs roster and we’ll likely see him throughout the game and there will be sequences in which Andy Reid designs plays specifically for a speedy RB. So, expect to see a design set for Jerick McKinnon at times.

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Some of my all time favorite plays are: “Lombardi Right” or “Lombardi Left”… meaning, sweep right or sweep left and I can hear Lombardi’s voice echoing in my head, “You set up an alleyway and the RB runs right through it.” Here’s Jerick McKinnon running a pitch right which the Minnesota Vikings execute to perfection:

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Do the Chiefs have the right kind of blockers to run such a basic play like this. Yes, now. Absolutely. It also takes a running back who not only has speed but the right mindset to follow his blockers, which McKinnon proves he can do here. This play is a bit reminiscent of one of Jamaal Charles long TDs. Thinking back to JC, I’m a little confused now about whether or not I enjoy a long TD run… like what Charles could provide, or a long TD pass… like what Patrick Mahomes provides now. Either way, ain’t it great to be a Chiefs fan!

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Jerick McKinnon has seasonal long TDs of 55 yards, 68 yards, 36 yards, 58 yards and 55 yards. With his speed and ability to read and make the one-cut moves that Andy Reid prefers in his RBs, we may be in for a few treats this year, provided by our Mr. McKinnon. Here’s that 68 yard TD run:

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ball out of the backfield. Here’s a few of his grabs, and all of these catches came in the same game:

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Jerick McKinnon can also return kicks and may get a shot at doing that with Dave Toub pounding the table on his behalf.

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I mentioned that McKinnon has some lateral juice earlier and what that means is, he can make a jump cut with the best of them. His 3.83 – 3-cone drill places him in the 79 percentile of all running backs, all-time. He was also recruited to college as a QB and has taken Wildcat snaps in the NFL. So, if you’re looking for other reasons why Andy Reid might like him, there ya go. I can sure see McKinnon running some kind of strange plays in Reid’s sweet twisted world of play designs. We also know Andy Reid likes to improve team speed every year and Jerick McKinnon does that for sure. Jerick aka “Jet” McKinnon… may have to change his nickname while in K.C. but I doubt that will be a problem, since he won’t be the fastest “Jet” in the clubhouse. At the very minimum, as a part time back in K.C. he should offer a terrific alternative to Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Darrel Williams.

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One issue not being talked about is the move of Greg Lewis to RB Coach, whereas he previously served as WR Coach. With Deland McCullough moving on, the fact that OC Eric Bieniemy is still around helps that situation a bunch, so even if you buy into the idea that Greg Lewis is not an experienced RB Coach, the mere presence of Bieniemy should calm your fears. If anything, Lewis should make the Chiefs RBs all better pass catchers.

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If Brett Veach signs RB Todd Gurley (BTW, it’s only an ugly rumor I’ve heard) it’s not because he would replace McKinnon, Gurley would most likely be brought in to replace Darrel Williams. Would Gurley be an upgrade? Sure, but at what price? If Veach can get him for the veteran minimum, he should do it. Gurley was the best back in the league not that long ago and probably still has some pop left in those legs… and hopefully, not the popping out kind of pop. However, the only way I see Gurley in a Chiefs uni is if someone in the Chiefs top three RBs gets hurt long term. Knock on Redwoods! What do you think?

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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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