Kareem Hunt, Future Legend?
Kareem Hunt blew up against the Patriots, and ravaged fantasy owners on his way to one of the best debut games ever for a running back. If you play fantasy and didn’t know this guy before Thursday, just quit now.
The first week of football has been great so far. The Jaguars surprised the Texans, the Falcons looked like they were still shaken up from their Super Bowl loss, the Browns showed signs of life, Matthew Stafford already earned his major contract, and the Bengals couldn’t even score a point. Tons of headlines for writers like myself.
Oh wait, I forgot to mention, the Chiefs completely dismantled the reigning champs.
First, let’s get this straight. Unless you want to be proven wrong, do NOT doubt the strength of the Patriots and how much motivation this loss will give them. Do NOT think that Tom Brady has finally hit the wall. I can’t stress this enough. But that’s another story. I want to talk about Kareem Hunt.
In case you weren’t familiar with the name Kareem Hunt before Thursday’s game, he is a rookie running back out of Toledo. That’s right, Toledo, like from the MAC, like the city known largely for sex trafficking. He went in the third round of the draft, the sixth running back taken, which had less to do with talent and more to do with a couple injuries and a suspension during college. He couldn’t have hand-picked a better place to be drafted though. Andy Reid’s offense, centered around running backs, is maybe the best landing spot for a guy with Hunt’s skill set. Just look at what Jamaal Charles, LeSean McCoy, and Brian Westbrook were able to accomplish under Andy Reid.
After watching Hunt’s ability to both run the ball effectively and make big receptions coming out of the backfield, I have the confidence that he could not only be the best running back from this year’s draft, but end up one of the best running backs of this generation. I know this is a big claim to make after one game, but it is rare to see this kind of a big impact, and this much versatility out of a player in his first ever professional game. I mean he had 246 total yards and three touchdowns. I think that’s enough to cause me to overreact a bit. And when I say this I don’t mean just a top five fantasy running back, that take has been given many times by fantasy football analysts. I mean a top five kind of talent at running back, which believe it or not, can be much different than fantasy value.
As football has shifted away from the run, backs have become less valuable and are rarely absolute game changers. There are maybe 5 running backs in the league today that can almost single-handedly win you a football game. But with the versatility of Hunt, (the same kind of versatility that backs like David Johnson and LeVeon Bell have) I see him becoming one of those elite game changers.
A preseason injury to Spencer Ware made Kareem Hunt the main back in Kansas City, and he has immediately shown that he is prepared for a full workload. Given the experience he will gain from starting right off the bat, and the tools he already has, I see Hunt becoming a player that will be remembered decades after his retirement.
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