The Chiefs currently have six running backs on the roster heading into training camp

Matt McMullen

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to kick off training camp in less than a month, and with the annual trek to St. Joseph nearly here, we're going to spend the next several weeks examining every position group on the roster heading into camp.

We began with the quarterbacks, and we'll continue at running back, where the Chiefs currently employ six players.

Let's take a look at each, beginning with last year's returning contributors in Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt and Carson Steele. After those three, the rest of the guys are listed alphabetically.

Isiah Pacheco

Pacheco was primed for a big year as the Chiefs' lead tailback in 2024 before an ankle injury suffered in Week 2 sidelined the former seventh-round pick for all but seven games.

He finished the year with 310 rushing yards and one touchdown on 83 carries, but now almost a year removed from his injury, Pacheco will have a chance to recapture the success he enjoyed during his first two seasons in the NFL.

Keep in mind, from 2022-23, Pacheco rushed for 1,765 yards and averaged 4.7 yards-per-carry across 31 games.

Kareem Hunt

Hunt led the Chiefs in carries (200), rushing yards (728), rushing touchdowns (7) and scrimmage yards (904) last year despite not signing with Kansas City until Week 4. He then added 28 carries for 117 yards and two touchdowns during the Chiefs' postseason run.

The 29-year-old Hunt was also a major reason why the Chiefs recorded the fewest negative rushes (excluding kneeldowns) of any team in the NFL last season, exemplified by his 500 yards after first contact.

Hunt helped stabilize a Chiefs' offense that lost Isiah Pacheco in Week 2, and now with a strong 2024 campaign in the books, he's back for another season in Kansas City.

Carson Steele

One of the stories of last year's training camp, Steele made the team as an undrafted free agent in 2024 and went on to appear in all 17 games. He rushed for 183 yards on 56 carries while also contributing on special teams.

Prior to joining the Chiefs, Steele was a standout at Ball State, where he racked up 1,556 rushing yards and 15 total touchdowns in 2022 as part of an all-conference campaign that included 96 forced missed tackles. He then transferred to UCLA for the 2023 season, where he led the Bruins in rushing yards (847).

Steele proceeded to make the most of his opportunity with the Chiefs, too, by compiling an excellent training camp and preseason. He'll have a chance to do the same this summer as Steele attempts to make the team once again.

Elijah Mitchell

Mitchell signed with the Chiefs earlier this offseason after spending the first four years of his career with the San Francisco 49ers. He appeared in 11 games (with 10 starts) as a rookie in 2021, rushing for 963 yards and five touchdowns, but multiple knee injuries limited Mitchell to just five games the following year.

He was then Christian McCaffrey's primary backup in 2023, rushing for 281 yards on 75 carries in 11 games, before a hamstring injury ended his 2024 campaign in training camp that year.

Overall, Mitchell rushed for 1,523 yards and nine touchdowns on 327 attempts during his time with the 49ers, averaging 4.7 yards-per-carry.

Notably, Mitchell possesses good speed (he ran a 4.33 40-yard dash prior to the draft in 2021) and has never fumbled the ball in his professional career. If he can stay healthy, he has a chance to work into the Chiefs' rotation at running back.

Brashard Smith

The Chiefs' seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Smith is a former wide receiver who made the switch to running back prior to last season, and as it turned out, Smith was a natural at it.

The 5-foot-10, 194-pound Smith rushed for 1,332 yards and 14 touchdowns while averaging 5.67 yards-per-carry during his lone season at SMU in 2024. He also tallied 39 catches for 327 yards and four scores, and when combined with his kick return yardage, Smith's 1,977 all-purpose yards ranked fourth in the FBS. Only Ashton Jeanty, Cam Skattebo and Omarion Hampton recorded more.

He was one of just eight players in the FBS to average more than 140 all-purpose yards-per-game in 2024, and he was the only player in the FBS last year to record at least 1,300 rushing yards, 300 receiving yards and 300 kick-return yards.

Smith, whose 4.39-second 40-yard dash was the third-fastest of any running back at the NFL Scouting Combine this year, is a jack-of-all-trades sort of playmaker who will have a chance to make an impact on both offense and special teams this season.

Elijah Young

An undrafted rookie signee this offseason, the 5-foot-9, 197-pound Young spent the first three years of his career at Missouri before transferring to Western Kentucky prior to the 2023 campaign. It turned out to be a wise decision, too, as Young led the Hilltoppers in rushing during both of his seasons there, tallying 1,357 yards on the ground.

Young, who ran a 4.41 40-yard dash at his pro day, was also a productive receiving option during his two years at Western Kentucky, recording 67 grabs for 631 yards and five scores.

The Bottom Line

The Chiefs featured three running backs on the roster ahead of Week 1 last year in Isiah Pacheco, Samaje Perine and Carson Steele. Kansas City also retained Clyde Edwards-Helaire following training camp, but he was quickly placed on the Non-Football Injury List prior to the season (which coincided with the Perine signing).

Kansas City has kept as many as four running backs in recent memory, too. The Chiefs elected to keep four running backs (plus a fullback) in 2022, so if multiple players emerge during training camp, it's possible that Kansas City could make the roster math work.

With that all in mind, it'll be interesting to see who can earn the third (and potentially fourth) spot in the running back room behind presumably Pacheco and Hunt, who enter camp as the Chiefs' two lead tailbacks.

Smith, whose skillset as a former wide receiver adds a different dynamic to the backfield, has a great shot to snag one of those spots following a great spring. If he can maintain that performance through camp, it'll likely leave one potential roster spot available between Mitchell, Steele and Young.

That competition will be a fun one to watch, especially when the padded practices begin early in camp.