What Kareem Hunt can realistically provide the Chiefs’ offense

The Kansas City Chiefs signed their former running back Kareem Hunt to the practice squad on Tuesday, which corresponded with the team putting starting running back Isiah Pacheco on the injured reserve with a leg injury.

Since his release from the Chiefs in 2018, Hunt has spent the last five seasons as a member of the Cleveland Browns, where he spent time backing up Nick Chubb and in tandem with other running backs.

At 29 years old with over 1000 carries under his belt, Hunt is not the player he used to be, but he can still provide valuable contributions to the Chiefs as they look for someone to step up in the absence of Pacheco.

In the red zone 2023 marked some of the lowest production of Hunt's career from a yards per carry standpoint — only averaging three yards—, but it did mark a career-high for him in another category.

Hunt scored nine rushing touchdowns in 2023 — tied for 11th in the NFL— and was nearly automatic when inside the 5-yard line.

Hunt has lost some of the speed and explosion that Chiefs fans might remember on his longer breakaway runs, but his contact balance and physical demeanor are still present.

Cleveland runs a pin-and-pull look inside the 5-yard line, with an extra offensive lineman serving as a fullback. On the snap, Hunt takes the handoff and begins to scan what his blockers are doing. As the kick-out man hits an EOL defender, the lead blocker takes an inside-out path on a linebacker.

Hunt has to make a quick decision, but ultimately he decides to cut inside of his lead blocker and absorbs contact from defenders in pursuit on his way to the endzone.

During his time in Cleveland, Hunt was a great fit for the Browns' power running game, and his willingness to go all out for his team rewarded him.

On a simple power look inside the 5-yard line, Hunt waits for the left guard to get into his block, and takes the ball right bending him. With defenders starting to swarm, Hunt leaves his feet and dives into the endzone.

Hunt scored eight rushing touchdowns in 2017, his rookie season. The Browns being able to utilize his ability to operate in short-yardage situations and use it to their advantage shows that he is still a capable runner and still has the contact balance and tackle-breaking ability to be a productive runner.

Pass protection Even back to his early days on the Chiefs, Hunt was always a solid pass protector, but as he has matured as a player his pass blocking has gotten even better.

The Jacksonville Jaguars show a blitz, and their middle linebacker comes untouched through the A gap. Hunt steps up to stop the blitz and lays down a perfectly executed cut block to stop the linebacker in his tracks, which gives his quarterback time to fire a strike.

With Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, having a stable of backs that can pass-protect is very valuable for the Chiefs, and Hunt can come in immediately and provide quality protection.

The Browns even trusted Hunt enough to allow him to block edge rushers in one-on-one situations in order to help the offense sell run-action looks. In space, Hunt squares up the edge and lays down a perfect cut block to get the edge rushers' hands down.

Hunt's willingness as a blocker was certainly an attractive trait to the Chiefs when they were looking in to bringing him back, and a trait that could help him find the field quickly in Kansas City.

The Browns used Hunt as their power back in 2023, but when they did give him a shot to make plays catching the ball, he took advantage of them.

On the snap, Hunt first shows a pass-block look, but then he quickly turns and positions himself to make a catch on the screenplay.

The quarterback delivers the ball, and Hunt takes off with blockers in front of him. Displaying good vision and cutting ability, Hunt weaves through defenders and shows off some hops as he dives forward for extra yards.

This play closely resembles the Chiefs' go-to slip screen and could be a look they use him in.

Hunt's talent for scoring in the red zone and the Browns' screen game collided in the team's playoff game against the Houston Texans.

In another familiar look, Hunt takes a shovel pass and is able to fight through arm tackles on his way into the endzone.

It is possible that the Chiefs will want to bump up Hunt's receiving numbers at some point during his tenure and try to rekindle some of the chemistry that he and Mahomes found early in their careers.

The bottom line With Pacheco down, the Chiefs' running back room will likely include Carson Steele, Samaje Perine, Keaontay Ingram, and now Hunt. The team initially assigned Hunt to the practice squad, which was likely to allow him to physically ramp himself up into playing shape and give the other three backs a chance to prove their worth.

This will not be the same Hunt who led the league in rushing as a rookie, or who was on pace for a generational second season, but he should be motivated to make up for lost time, as well as seek redemption.

Hunt can make an immediate impact in the short-yardage running game, as well as protect passes and be on the receiving end of passes from Mahomes.

Second chances are hard to come across in the NFL, but Hunt is going to have a chance at one and change the way people think about him in Kansas City.