The Chiefs need to stop pretending the run game will fix itself

The Kansas City Chiefs have been the most dominant team in the NFL over the past decade. The centerpiece of that dominance has always been quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the passing attack designed by head coach Andy Reid. While it makes sense that the Chiefs would continue to focus on Mahomes and the passing game, it has reached the point where they have neglected the running game so much that it is affecting the offense.

Many KC fans were hoping that the Chiefs would fix their running issues by taking advantage of a stacked 2025 running back class and drafting a potential elite running back early in the draft. The Chiefs did take a seventh-round flier on Brashard Smith, but at this point he looks more like a talented developmental piece than someone who is going to revitalize the position for KC anytime soon.

The Chiefs will utilize some kind of committee at running back this season that will start with Isiah Pacheco. While Pacheco is one of the most energetic and personable players on KC's roster, he's always been just a little short of being an elite, starting-caliber running back. Pacheco runs hard and will fight for every yard that is blocked for him, but he doesn't create a lot of yards on his own and his offensive line hasn't always done a great job of creating yards for him.

Behind Pacheco is 30-year-old Kareem Hunt, who it seems may be taking the job as KC's third-down back this season (barring a breakout by Smith), and the oft-injured Elijah Mitchell, who has as much upside as Pacheco but is new to the team and hasn't been able to stay healthy for any meaningful length of time during his NFL career. They also still seem to like Carson Steele as an RB/FB hybrid, but he hasn't been very effective with his opportunities so far.

All of this is to say that the Chiefs have a lot of bodies they can throw at the running back position this season, but none of them look like players who should be counted on to carry the running back position in a way where the Chiefs can just hand them the ball and forget about it. If they want a better run game this season, they need to actually put some time, energy, and game planning into getting it done. Otherwise, it isn't going to happen.

Has the Chiefs run game gotten worse?

Only a fool would suggest that the Chiefs should abandon their passing game with Patrick Mahomes and make the run game the focus of their offense, but they do need an effective enough run game to keep the chains moving and help open up that passing game.

In 2022, KC led the NFL in offensive yards per game with 413.6. Yes, they were first in passing yards per game with 297.8 and only 20th in rushing yards per game with 115.9, but they were eighth in yards per carry with a 4.7 average.

Fast forward to last season, and the Chiefs finished 17th in the NFL in offensive yards per game with 327.6. Their passing numbers dropped to 14th in the NFL with 222.4 per game, while the rushing yards per game ranked 22nd with 105.3.

On paper, that looks like a much bigger drop in passing game efficiency, with the run game only dropping two spots in the rankings and about 10 yards per game. However, the Chiefs ranked 28th in yards per carry last season, a 20-spot drop from 2022 in how effective they were when they did run the ball.

The really disappointing part about that poor running efficiency last season is that the Chiefs had three of the best interior linemen in all the NFL. Even if your running backs are mediocre, a good interior offensive line should be able to get you a lot better than 28th in yards per carry if you put any type of game plan or emphasis on getting that done. Unfortunately, that is exactly where the Chiefs may be dropping the ball.

It has long been known that Andy Reid neglects the run game too often. Reid may be a first-ballot Hall of Fame coach and the central architect of this Chiefs dynasty that every KC fan is grateful for, but even the best coach in team history has weaknesses, and neglecting the run is one of his.

It's also important to note that neglecting the run doesn't have to mean not calling run plays. The Chiefs actually called 33 more run plays last season than when they were the most productive offense in the NFL in 2022. They were just much less productive doing it.

Short of trading for a dynamic true number one running back (which I don't think will happen), there are two things that the Chiefs need to do to get their run game going.

How can the Chiefs fix their run game?

1. Put more emphasis on the run game in practice and game planning.

The Chiefs have two All-Pro interior offensive linemen in Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith. Their third interior lineman (at least for now) is Kingsley Suamataia, who has looked strong run blocking and had some issues in pass protection. The Chiefs could help their run game and build some confidence in their weakest offensive line piece all at the same time if they would put some emphasis and game planning into running the football.

For years, the offensive linemen in KC have spent the vast majority of their time focused on protecting the most valuable player in the NFL. That's logical, but running the football effectively in the NFL takes an aggressive "I'm going to move you out of the way" mindset. That mindset has to be cultivated. If your line spends 90% of every practice moving backwards in "protect" mode, it's hard to just flick the switch on Sunday and turn into bulldozers.

The Chiefs have the pieces in place to punish teams in the run game. They have a strong interior offensive line, running backs that run hard, and a quarterback that opposing teams have to fear and account for on every single offensive snap. They just need the mindset and play design to take advantage of it. Speaking of having a quarterback that opposing teams have to fear, that brings us to step two of fixing the run game.

2. Keep the defense out of the box with the deep passing game.

It isn't a coincidence that the Chiefs' running efficiency has dropped at the same time as Patrick Mahomes' yards per passing attempt numbers. The Chiefs' shortage of weapons at wide receiver and issues at offensive tackle last season turned the Chiefs into much more of a quick passing game than earlier in Mahomes’ career.

Mahomes averaged a mind-boggling 8.8 yards per attempt in his first season as a starter, and as recently as 2022 he averaged 8.1. Last season that had dropped all the way to 6.8 yards per attempt. That's a full 2-yard-per-attempt drop from his first season as a starter, where he was airing the ball out left and right. With the Chiefs not stretching the field as much, opposing teams can put more bodies down in the box to stop the run and clog passing lanes.

The emergence of Tyquan Thornton may help the situation. If Chiefs' receivers can attack downfield, and if Josh Simmons can stabilize Mahomes’ blindside in pass protection, the Chiefs may be able to be more aggressive and effective vertically. That should set things up perfectly for the Chiefs to counter with a physical run game between the tackles with their strong interior offensive linemen.

The Chiefs will always be a pass-first team while Patrick Mahomes is their quarterback and Andy Reid is their head coach. However, they can't afford to neglect the run game the way they have recently. They need to give their offense some balance, and that doesn't just mean calling bland run plays as an afterthought. It means making it an essential part of their offensive game plan and cultivating a mindset that they can go out and get whatever yards they need.

Will Andy Reid commit to fixing the run game? Only time will tell.