Kareem Hunt’s return to the Kansas City Chiefs last season might’ve saved the team’s offense.

Without Isiah Pacheco in the lineup, the veteran rejoining the team that drafted him after a long stint with the Browns revived the rushing attack. Subsequently, many expected Pacheco and Hunt to be a veteran 1-2 punch for the Chiefs in the 2025 season. Rookie Brashard Smith, however, is making a case to usurp Hunt on the depth chart so far in the preseason.

Smith was a bit unheralded in the Chiefs’ draft class, which stands to reason considering the SMU product was only a seventh-round pick, the 228th overall selection in the class. However, he entered the NFL after earning First-team All-ACC honors a season ago and has continued to show out in the preseason in more ways than one.

In Kansas City’s preseason Week 2 loss to the Seahawks, Smith only got five touches but made the most of them. He tied for the team-high in rushing yards with 22 on just three carries, while also hauling in his only two targets as a receiver for 16 yards. This came after a less impressive statistical debut against the Cardinals when Smith had just 10 yards on four carries and his only reception lost six yards.

However, Smith is now getting more chances to show off his juice as an offensive weapon, but he’s also passing the biggest test that most rookie running backs, especially late-round picks, face upon entering the pro level.

Chiefs rookie Brashard Smith might be stealing Kareem Hunt’s job

Through two preseason games, not only has Smith been the highest-graded Chiefs running back according to PFF ($), but he’s done so with the help of an impressive 77.6 pass-blocking grade.

That, in itself, might be the one thing that pushes him ahead of the veteran Hunt on the depth chart entering the regular season.

We often see rookie running backs come into the NFL and simply not have the requisite experience or even the ability to hold up in pass protection.

It’s why we often see talented playmakers in more limited roles than expected early in their careers, because the coaching staff can’t trust them to block in the roles they’re needed to out of the backfield.

That doesn’t appear to be an issue for Smith, however, which makes this a fascinating case study. Andy Reid and the Chiefs are obviously intimately familiar with Hunt. At the same time, while he helped to stabilize the run game without Pacheco last season, he’s also a far cry from the player he once was and viably could be said to be on the wrong side of his prime at this point of his career.

Subsequently, if Kansas City continues to see that they can trust the rookie Smith to hold up in pass protection while also offering the upside of youth and explosiveness that he offers in relation to Hunt, he could very well start to see the RB2 role become his while Hunt is pushed down the depth chart.

It’s not a guarantee, but it’s becoming a seemingly more likely possibility with what the SMU product has shown through a pair of preseason outings.