There are a half-dozen top-tier running backs, and in that group, I think Kareem Hunt is the most underrated. He’s good, and he’s tending to be drafted too late, I think.
I can understand Todd Gurley and Ezekiel Elliott being selected before him. But I don’t understand Hunt being selected after Melvin Gordon and Saquon Barkley. In non-PPR, he’s also being selected after Leonard Fournette. Some are taking Dalvin Cook before Hunt, which is crazy to me.
In my eyes, Hunt is right there with the other top-level running backs – LeVeon Bell, David Johnson and Alvin Kamara. Bell and Johnson both come with unresolved contract issues.
Hunt is talented. He’s been durable, and I like the way Kansas City will use him. Andy Reid has been a head coach for 19 years, and he has a strong history of featuring his tailback as not only a runner but also in the passing game. Give Reid a decent-enough running back to work with, and the numbers will be there.
In over half of Reid’s 19 seasons, he’s had a running back put up top-10 numbers. That’s standard scoring, and I’ve got those numbers in bold. In all but three of those 19 seasons, Reid has had a running back finish with at least numbers putting him in the top 21. Only three years that were big misses (and I’ve got them tagged with black dots).
| ANDY REID'S RUNNING BACKS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Rec | Run | Total | TD | Points | Rk |
| 1999 | Duce Staley | 294 | 1,273 | 1,567 | 6 | 192.7 | 10 |
| 2001 | Duce Staley | 626 | 604 | 1,230 | 4 | 147.0 | 20 |
| 2002 | Duce Staley | 541 | 1,029 | 1,570 | 8 | 207.0 | 15 |
| 2003 | • Correll Buckhalter | 133 | 542 | 675 | 9 | 121.5 | 30 |
| 2003 | Brian Westbrook | 332 | 613 | 945 | 13 | 172.5 | 18 |
| 2004 | Brian Westbrook | 703 | 812 | 1,515 | 9 | 205.5 | 10 |
| 2005 | Brian Westbrook | 616 | 617 | 1,233 | 7 | 167.3 | 18 |
| 2006 | Brian Westbrook | 699 | 1,217 | 1,916 | 11 | 257.6 | 6 |
| 2007 | Brian Westbrook | 771 | 1,333 | 2,104 | 12 | 282.4 | 2 |
| 2008 | Brian Westbrook | 402 | 936 | 1,338 | 14 | 217.8 | 10 |
| 2009 | • LeSean McCoy | 308 | 637 | 945 | 4 | 120.5 | 36 |
| 2010 | LeSean McCoy | 592 | 1,080 | 1,672 | 9 | 221.2 | 8 |
| 2011 | LeSean McCoy | 315 | 1,309 | 1,624 | 20 | 282.4 | 2 |
| 2012 | LeSean McCoy | 373 | 840 | 1,213 | 5 | 151.3 | 21 |
| 2013 | Jamaal Charles | 693 | 1,287 | 1,980 | 19 | 312.0 | 1 |
| 2014 | Jamaal Charles | 291 | 1,033 | 1,324 | 14 | 216.4 | 7 |
| 2015 | • Charcandrick West | 214 | 634 | 848 | 5 | 114.8 | 32 |
| 2016 | Spencer Ware | 447 | 921 | 1,368 | 5 | 166.8 | 16 |
| 2017 | Kareem Hunt | 455 | 1,327 | 1,782 | 11 | 244.2 | 3 |
—Ian Allan