Andy Reid got terrible news early in the 2024 NFL season with Isiah Pacheco‘s fractured fibula, an injury that left Patrick Mahomes without his primary running back on the Kansas City Chiefs. However, it looks like both the head coach and quarterback are satisifed with the response from Kareem Hunt and the rest of the RB room.
Hunt, who returned to Kansas City after five seasons with the Cleveland Browns, was Mahomes‘ go-to player in the running game in the Week 4 win over the Chargers in Los Angeles. Rookie fullback Carson Steele had assumed that role in the Chiefs’ first game without Pacheco in Week 3. But with Hunt active this time, the 29-year-old immediately received more workload.
“With playing Kareem more, I just kind of went with the hot hand,” Reid explained, though he clarified it had nothing to do with Steele fumbling the ball in the Chiefs‘ first possession. “I’m not down on Carson. He had the fumble, he’ll figure that out. We’re lucky to have three good guys in there. (Samaje) Perine had a touchdown and had some nice runs for us, too. We’re in good shape there at that position.”
Hunt led the Chiefs in carries (14) and rushing yards (69) in LA, while he also made two catches for 16 yards. Apart from making a great impression on Reid, Hunt also drew praise from Mahomes, who echoed the coach’s sentiment on the Chiefs’ RB room.
“I thought he did a great job,” Mahomes said of Hunt. “For someone to come into an offense – I know it’s an offense he’d been in, but an offense he hadn’t played in years – to be able to run the football hard, get well-earned yards [and] catch the ball out of the backfield, it was good to see. I’m just glad (Brett) Veach is building a great running back room [and] that we can get guys to step up and make plays while Isiah’s not here.”
Mahomes expects Hunt to play big role in Chiefs’ offense
Hunt and Mahomes were part of the same draft class in 2017, with both starting their NFL careers on the Chiefs. Many years later, they’re reunited in Kansas City, and the quarterback believes the running back could play an instrumental role in bringing more success to Arrowhead.
“He’s always been a guy who runs tough,” Mahomes said. “He’s hard to tackle, and you could see that. He’s going to make sure he finishes every single run and falls forward, and I think that was good to see. I think he’ll get more and more comfortable as the year goes on and he’ll [have] a role in our offense.”