I like Kareem Hunt. I like his talent and versatility, and I like the offense he’s in. Looks like a very safe fantasy selection to me.
Andy Reid knows how to utilize running backs, and his best ones have been run-catch guys who are similar to Hunt – LeSean McCoy, Jamaal Charles and Brian Westbrook. Get a good back in a Reid offense, and the numbers will be there.
Reid has been a head coach for 19 years, and if you look at his most productive running back in each of those seasons, those guys have averaged 53 catches. As luck would have it, that’s exactly what Hunt caught last year. He will be a big part of the passing game.
Reid’s teams don’t tend to run for a ton of 1-yard touchdowns. That was a contributing factor to Hunt’s weird scoring drought last year, when he went nine straight games without scoring – probably will scare some off this year. But Hunt scored in all eight of his other games, and Reid’s backs tend to be solid enough touchdown scorers, in part because of their pass catching. Of those 19 backs, all but three of them caught multiple touchdowns.
Ultimately, it’s about production, and it tends to happen when you have a good back working with Reid. In 10 of his 19 seasons, his best running back has put up top-10 fantasy numbers (standard scoring).
Average production: 1,410 yards (939 run, 471 rec), with 9.5 TDs.
ANDY REID'S BEST RUNNING BACKS EACH YEAR | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Run | Rec | Total | TD | Points | Rk |
1999 | Duce Staley, Phil. | 1,273 | 294 | 1,567 | 6 | 192.7 | 10 |
2000 | Darnell Autry, Phil. | 334 | 275 | 609 | 4 | 84.9 | 37 |
2001 | Duce Staley, Phil. | 604 | 626 | 1,230 | 4 | 147.0 | 20 |
2002 | Duce Staley, Phil. | 1,029 | 541 | 1,570 | 8 | 207.0 | 15 |
2003 | Brian Westbrook, Phil. | 613 | 332 | 945 | 13 | 172.5 | 18 |
2004 | Brian Westbrook, Phil. | 812 | 703 | 1,515 | 9 | 205.5 | 10 |
2005 | Brian Westbrook, Phil. | 617 | 616 | 1,233 | 7 | 167.3 | 18 |
2006 | Brian Westbrook, Phil. | 1,217 | 699 | 1,916 | 11 | 257.6 | 6 |
2007 | Brian Westbrook, Phil. | 1,333 | 771 | 2,104 | 12 | 282.4 | 2 |
2008 | Brian Westbrook, Phil. | 936 | 402 | 1,338 | 14 | 217.8 | 10 |
2009 | LeSean McCoy, Phil. | 637 | 308 | 945 | 4 | 120.5 | 36 |
2010 | LeSean McCoy, Phil. | 1,080 | 592 | 1,672 | 9 | 221.2 | 8 |
2011 | LeSean McCoy, Phil. | 1,309 | 315 | 1,624 | 20 | 282.4 | 2 |
2012 | LeSean McCoy, Phil. | 840 | 373 | 1,213 | 5 | 151.3 | 21 |
2013 | Jamaal Charles, K.C. | 1,287 | 693 | 1,980 | 19 | 312.0 | 1 |
2014 | Jamaal Charles, K.C. | 1,033 | 291 | 1,324 | 14 | 216.4 | 7 |
2015 | Charcandrick West, K.C. | 634 | 214 | 848 | 5 | 114.8 | 32 |
2016 | Spencer Ware, K.C. | 921 | 447 | 1,368 | 5 | 166.8 | 16 |
2017 | Kareem Hunt, K.C. | 1,327 | 455 | 1,782 | 11 | 244.2 | 3 |
—Ian Allan