Kansas City Chiefs News

Home

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

Oct 19, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy speak during the third quarter of the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images Denny Medley-Imagn Images

1 Chiefs Player to Cut in Fantasy Despite Offensive Resurgence

Originally posted on Kansas City Chiefs on SI
By Andy Quach | Last updated Oct 22, 2025 11:00 AM ET

The Kansas City Chiefs made quick work of reasserting themselves as top contenders in the 2025 NFL season, aided by the complete inability of other teams to step up to fill the void during KC's struggles in the early year. After a disappointing 1-2 start to the campaign, they turned things around as soon as Xavier Worthy returned from his dislocated shoulder injury that he suffered in the opener.

Following their latest win over the Las Vegas Raiders, the Chiefs are now 3-1 in games where Worthy was fully available. They didn't just beat the Raiders, though; they destroyed them 31-0. Not only did they have Worthy in the lineup against Las Vegas, but they also got Rashee Rice back from his six-game suspension in Week 7.

The Chiefs' offense has now averaged 31 points per outing since getting Worthy back. They certainly could have run it up further against the Raiders, but elected to try to run the clock down practically throughout the entire game, especially in the fourth quarter, when Kansas City benched its starters and stopped passing the ball. Amid the Chiefs' offensive resurgence, though, not everyone has thrived, at least from a fantasy football perspective.

Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It's safe to drop Kareem Hunt now

During the Kansas City Chiefs' 1-2 start to the 2025 NFL season, they struggled heavily to get anything going on the ground, leading to poor offensive showings overall with Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy unavailable for the air attack. That made it difficult to assess whether Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt, or rookie Brashard Smith were worth rostering in fantasy football.

With the passing game back to full strength, the Chiefs' running backs offer a bit more upside, as Kansas City could spend a large chunk of the remaining season trying to burn clock after building big early leads, like they did against the Las Vegas Raiders. Both Pacheco and Smith have been trending upwards lately, leaving Hunt as the odd man out. Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke believes that fantasy players can drop him at this point without fear:

Would caution a bit with the Brashard Smith usage:

-11/14 rush attempts in three garbage time drives with Mahomes out
-Kareem Hunt injured first drive, returned briefly second drive, didn't play afterwards
-Receptions cool, but still doesn't have a pass blocking snap this season
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) October 20, 2025

"Hunt appeared to be the top fantasy option out of the Chiefs backfield early in the season. While Isiah Pacheco was the primary running back on early downs, Hunt was still seeing plenty of carries while being the receiving-down back and, most importantly, the goal-line back. Since then, his playing time has declined. He was playing at least 25% of the early-down snaps from Weeks 2-4, but that’s fallen below 25% in each of the last three games. He played at least 85% of the third-down snaps each of the first three weeks, but that’s ranged anywhere from 22-100% the last four weeks. He also hasn’t dominated short-yardage and goal-line situations in the same way.

He had double-digit touches in Weeks 3 and 4 and scored two touchdowns in Week 5. Since then, he’s run 10 times for 41 yards. In that same time, Pacheco has run 27 times, while Brashard Smith has also gotten more involved."

To get all of our key Chiefs' fantasy updates after each game, follow us on X (Twitter) @KCChiefsOnSI and @Domminchella.

This article first appeared on Kansas City Chiefs on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: