Kareem Hunt is the Pro Football Writers of America ROY

The Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt has been named the Pro Football Writers of America Co-Rookie of the Year (ROY) for 2017. This marks the first time that a Kansas City Chief has ever been named the ROY. Hunt shares the award with the New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara.

At the end of August, the Chiefs #1 RB Spencer Ware went down with a double-whammy injury suffering an ACL and a MCL. While Hunt was supposed to share snaps with Ware, he immediately took over the #1 RB role. In Hunt’s first game, and on his very first carry, he fumbled away the ball, something he’d never done in college. However, he bounced back and gained 148 yards on 17 carries for an 8.7 ypc while scoring TDs rushing adn 2 through the air in that game. All against the New England Patriots.

Hunt went on the lead all NFL running backs in rushing by going for 1,327 yards and… by the way… he never fumbled again during the whole season.

Although Kareem Hunt had 4.9 yards per carry this year, an excellent average, an under-appreciated aspect to his game is his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. He had 53 receptions for 455 yards. His 53 catches placed him thrid on the team after Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill.

At the time that the Chiefs drafted Kareem Hunt, some would argue that they paid too great a price to get him. The Chiefs were scheduled to select in the third round at pick #104 but after Alvin Kamara was taken early in the third round, they decided to trade away their 3rd round pick (#104) and a 4th rounder and a 7th rounder… to move up and get him. Three picks after the Chiefs took Hunt, the Texans selected RB D’Onta Freeman. Speaking of Alvin Kamara, Hunt he was also given a ROY award by Fox Sports:

While Alvin Kamara’s talent is undeniable, he shared a backfield with Mark Ingram, giving Kamara room to grow and another back to lean on during a long season. Then again, there are those who might argue that the presence of Ingram “took away snaps” from Kamara. He could have also been a target of Reid and Dorsey back in April’s draft but once he was gone, Hunt appeared to be their focus. As far as reasons why Hunt should be the one to win the ROY award, I think of no greater reason that the “forced missed tackle” he was responsible for generating:

While there are some rookies who are deserving of the ROY, Kareem Hunt is as deserving as any.

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