{"id":65256,"date":"2025-05-29T06:28:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T06:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=65256"},"modified":"2025-05-29T06:28:22","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T06:28:22","slug":"what-elijah-young-will-bring-to-the-chiefs-running-backs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=65256","title":{"rendered":"What Elijah Young will bring to the Chiefs\u2019 running backs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Elijah<\/p>\n

As the Kansas City Chiefs enter their offseason program, there is plenty of competition at running back. Six players are vying for a spot on the team \u2014 and any of them could carve out a role for themselves on this fall\u2019s active roster or practice squad.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at one of them: undrafted free agent Elijah Young of Western Kentucky.<\/p>\n

Background<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Coming out of South-Doyle High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, Young was a four-star recruit with offers from SEC schools like Tennessee, South Carolina, Kentucky and Missouri.<\/p>\n

He ended choosing Missouri, but never really got his footing with the Tigers. He collected just 79 carries for 407 yards and one touchdown over three seasons in Columbia. Young then transferred to Western Kentucky. His first season with the Hilltoppers wasn\u2019t spectacular \u2014 just 104 carries for 474 yards and three touchdowns \u2014 but in 2024, he finished with 883 yards and three touchdowns on 201 carries.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/explore?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1909607166262079897%7Ctwgr%5Eddd3c7cb1522bd2d1a31e83fc0fa84127af36b50%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.arrowheadpride.com%2F2025%2F5%2F28%2F24432754%2Fchiefs-roster-what-elijah-young-will-bring-teams-running-backs<\/p>\n

While he\u2019s undersized at 5 feet 9 and 197 pounds, the pre-draft process revealed that Young is a solid athlete who brings plenty of speed and explosiveness.<\/p>\n

Strengths and Weaknesses<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Young\u2019s best trait is his first-step explosiveness: when he gets the ball, he can quickly shift into his top gear, using his speed to get to the sideline and beat top-down angles. While Young really only plays in his fifth gear, he gets there very quickly \u2014 and his instant explosiveness helps him get to the edge.<\/p>\n

Young runs with a low center of gravity. While he doesn\u2019t have the size to break a large number of tackles, it\u2019s tough for defensive backs to bring him down in the open field when Young throws his weight into the defender.<\/p>\n

Despite his small size, Young presents a solid presence in pass protection. His eyes are always where they should be \u2014 and he\u2019s not afraid to lay a big, physical chip.<\/p>\n

How he fits with the Chiefs<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In 2024, the Chiefs lacked speed (and explosive plays) from their backfield, so bringing in a player like Young makes sense. He is at his best running from shotgun, which fits Kansas City well.<\/p>\n

But Young won\u2019t be a shoo-in. To make the roster, he\u2019ll have to show more as a receiver. Still, I like to see the Chiefs trying to find a player who could bring explosive runs to their offense.<\/p>\n

So while it will be an uphill battle for Young to make the roster, there will be room for running backs on the practice squad roster \u2014 and with a good preseason, I think he can play his way into one of those spots.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The former Western Kentucky running back always plays in his fifth gear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":65257,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Elijah Young will bring to the Chiefs\u2019 running backs - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=65256\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Elijah Young will bring to the Chiefs\u2019 running backs - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The former Western Kentucky running back always plays in his fifth gear.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=65256\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-29T06:28:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-29T06:28:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Thiet-ke-chua-co-ten-2-96.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrLuu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrLuu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=65256\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=65256\",\"name\":\"What Elijah Young will bring to the Chiefs\u2019 running backs - 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