Brendan O’Sullivan analyzes which Kansas City Chiefs running back is more valuable in fantasy football.
The Chiefs hit their bye week following a 28-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 9. Now, they’ll play the Broncos, who lead the NFL with an 8-2 record.
Although Kansas City is 5-4 and not in a wild card spot, there isn’t a ton of concern considering Patrick Mahomes looks stellar once again. Prior to the Week 9 loss, Mahomes threw for at least three touchdowns in three straight games and in four of his last five. Naturally, the Chiefs are 4-1 during that stretch.
Kansas City has a top 10 offense in terms of both yards and points. The passing attack shines, with the run game lagging behind. The backfield tandem of Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt combines for roughly 4.1 yards per carry, which is 2.0 behind Mahomes’ 6.1.
Mahomes is by far the most efficient rusher, but who’s the better running back in Kansas City? Well it depends.
Pacheco often gets more touches, giving him a better chance at high value rushes. He’s earned double-digit carries in three straight games and five of his eight this season. He did, however, miss the game against the Bills. That opened the door for more Hunt touches.
Hunt had 11 carries in his first start of the season against the Bills. It wasn’t much of an increase without Pacheco as Brashard Smith and Clyde Edwards-Helaire had five total carries combined. Hunt’s primary purpose is his goal-line rushes. He’s touchdown dependent, making him a boom-or-bust type of player.
Neither Pacheco nor Hunt are active pass-catchers, so there isn’t a major edge in that category. The reality is that both running backs provide little value on a week-to-week basis because they’re splitting snaps. Even with Pacheco out, Hunt’s usage didn’t increase that much.
The one main difference is that Pacheco gets slightly more carries, while Hunt scores more touchdowns. Hunt seems like the more valuable back in fantasy football since the difference in carries is not that large.
