Should the Chiefs consider reunion with Kareem Hunt?
@ChiefsFan4Lyfe Chiefs Focus @Chiefsfocus
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The Chiefs really don’t need much help on offense, but that won’t keep Brett Veach from making the team that much better before the 53-man roster deadline. Isiah Pacheco, A seventh-round rookie has been turning heads at Kansas City Chiefs training camp so far. He has flashed throughout camp, earning an increasing number of opportunities working with Patrick Mahomes and the first-team offense.
Pacheco has drawn comparisons to former Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt. Since bringing his name up, Kareem has made the news recently with reports out of Cleveland where they say he wants a new deal and he will hold out of camp. The Browns have recently denied his trade request but that won’t stop the team from exploring that option.
With that being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Veach and the front office were talking about this situation and exploring the option of bringing back their running back they drafted with the 86th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft and I will list the reasons why it could happen?!
Reason 1) Clyde’s Durability Problems:
The Chiefs still have faith in that Clyde Edwards-Helaire becomes the player worth that 2020 first-round pick. He averaged an impressive 4.4 yards per carry through his first two seasons, but durability is a real issue for him and the Chiefs. Even when he’s on the field, the Chiefs haven’t utilized him enough especially in passing situations.
Obviously, that’s a problem for a pass-heavy team like the Chiefs. Pacheco is making noise already, especially after the dismal performance of CEH and Ronald Jones in the first pre=season game against the Bears.
Jones has been rumored as a bubble player but I don’t think that’s the case, he’s too talented. McKinnon is back but for one-year. Hunt rushed for 1,327 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie during the 2017 season under Andy Reid, Matt Nagy’s, and Eric Bienemy’s tutelage. Mahomes is a legitimate MVP candidate.
The Chiefs will always be a running back by committee unit who can get the job done. But Hunts offers the chance at something much more. He had ups and downs in Cleveland, but knowing how much he misses KC and his familiarity of the scheme that would make an already dangerous Chiefs offense even scarier.
Reason 2) It’s not about the money:
Kareem doesn’t want to be in Cleveland. It started with the mess caused by Baker Mayfield. Then the Deshaun Watson controversy has been the headline of the Browns organization and that type of distraction will distract a team more than motivate.
Now Roger Goodell is looking to overturn the ruling of Watson’s charges and it’s about to get ugly. Kareem doesn’t want to be around to see it. The Chiefs released Hunt in November of 2018 after video of him kicking and shoving a woman in a Cleveland hotel in February was published by TMZ.
Hunt also admitted he lied to the Chiefs about what happened during their initial investigation into the incident. Times have changed and Kareem has stayed clean since then. Image in the NFL is important and we want the most positive outcome and I believe Kareem wants no parts of the controversy going on there. It’s not about the money.
Reason 3) He makes our scary offense even scarier:
Like I mentioned earlier, Hunt was the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2017 after Kansas City drafted him in the third round out of Toledo. He led the NFL with 1,327 yards orchestrated by Nagy when he was the OC that season along with Bieniemy as the RB Coach that season as well.
If he were to return, he would potentially push Clyde Edwards-Helaire out of the starting lineup and give the Chiefs a more dynamic pass catcher in the backfield to pair with Pacheco and McKinnon.
By potentially acquiring Hunt, the Chiefs would address both an immediate and longer-term need. The ground game hasn’t exactly been a problem but CEH has been too inconsistent to stay healthy through his career. Hunt would give the RB unit an upgrade in the pass blocking department as well. Hunt knowing Andy Reid’s scheme would also help the other running backs in the room.
That’s why pairing him with Pacheco makes sense, even though they have similar styles. Hunt, 27, is on a one-year deal with the Browns and Veach would find a way to extend Hunt for the right price. Pacheco’s rookie contract runs through 2025, and he can be in KC well beyond that if everything works out. In the meantime, a potential Hunt-Pacheco backfield would be one of the toughest in the league.
Conclusion:
As many Chiefs fans know, Hunt was a huge part of the Chiefs great run in the 2018 season before his incident got him kicked off, so a return makes sense for a player who has made the very best of second chances and made a believer out of most since then is seeking to title chase with the team he started with. If the price is right, I see no problem with trading for a man who is familiar with the teams offensive philosophy, experienced, as well as
provides an additional offensive weapon to go along with Isiah Pacheco, Jerick McKinnon, Ronald Jones and or Clyde Edwards-Helaire. What do you think Chiefs Kingdom? Should the Chiefs bring back Kareem Hunt?
I would but it’s up to Brett Veach, Andy Reid and Clark Hunt to decide that.
Kareem Hunt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5V2xyoFGcM
