The Kansas City Chiefs are less than a month away from their annual journey to St. Joseph for training camp at Missouri Western State University. Over the next month, we’ll be breaking down each position of the team’s roster heading into camp.
We started with the quarterbacks, and we’ll continue our pre-camp breakdown by examining the backfield, where Kansas City carries seven rushers on the 90-man roster.
Atop the depth chart are main contributors Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who are poised for another strong campaign of carrying the rock this season. However, the depth of raw talent is what makes running back an exciting part of the Chiefs roster going into camp.
Isiah Pacheco
Pacheco has been the steel of the 2022 NFL Draft and the gift he keeps giving. The former seventh-round pick from Rutgers has made a name for himself with his angry rushing style and love for contact. Pacheco was the Chiefs’ leading rusher last season with a career-high 935 yards and seven touchdowns on 205 carries. He also finished 2023 as a reliable pass-catcher, hauling in 44 receptions for 244 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Pacheco played a significant role in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl run last season. He recorded 378 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns as Kansas City finished the 2023 campaign, hoisting its fourth Lombardi trophy in franchise history.
The 25-year-old has emerged as one of the league’s top running backs, wracking up 1,765 rushing yards and 13 scores through 31 career games. Pacheco heads into his third NFL season intending to help his team accomplish the act of winning three Super Bowl championships in a row. He’s also set his sights on his first 1,000-yard season of his young career.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Clyde Edwards-Helaire re-signed with the Chiefs on April 8, after the club waived his fifth-year option. Following three consecutive injury-plagued seasons to start his pro career, CEH appeared in a career-high 15 games last season. Totaling 411 total yards and two touchdowns.
During a road contest against the New England Patriots, he showcased his best performance by tallying 101 scrimmage yards and a touchdown. As he enters his fifth season, CEH has accumulated 1,845 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, along with 89 catches for 765 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Despite not living up to expectations since he was drafted, the former first-round pick has quietly found a role as a supporting compliment to Pacheco.
Emani Bailey
Emani Bailey is an undrafted free agent signee the Chiefs picked up over the spring. At 5-foot-7, 202 pounds, the 22-year-old finished last season as the leading rusher for TCU with 1,209 yards and eight touchdowns. According to Chiefs reporter Matt McMullen, Bailey was one of only nine players from a Power Five conference to average 100+ rushing years per game. He also recorded over 70 missed tackles a year ago.
In college, Bailey excelled as a pass catcher from the backfield, catching all 25 targets for 184 receiving yards and a score. Overall, Bailey exhibits exceptional athleticism that will be something to watch over the next month during camp and preseason.
Haasan Hall
Haasan Hall enters his first season with the Chiefs after spending last season on the practice squad of three NFL teams. Hall entered the league in 2023 as one of the Cleveland Browns’ undrafted free-agent pickups. Cleveland waived him during final cute following the preseason. However, the team brought him back and signed him to their practice squad. He got cut from the team a month later.
Hall was out of football until November 1, when he signed with the Arizona Cardinals practice squad. Six days later, the Cards released him and he signed with the New York Giants practice squad, where he spent the rest of the month before being released.
On January 10, he agreed to a “Reserve/Future” contract with Kansas City, where he spent his off-season. At 5-foot-10, 196 pounds, Hall recorded 4,741 all-purpose yards and 14 touchdowns during his college career at Georgia Tech.
One draft analyst for NFL Draft Buzz described Hall as a player who “displays a very good feel as an inside or outside runner with an above-average vision to make quick cuts.”
Keaontay Ingram
Keaontay Ingram is another “Reserve/Future” signee the Chiefs picked up on February 14. He entered the league as a sixth-round draft pick by the Arizona Cardinals from the 2022 NFL Draft. During his first two seasons in the league, Ingram appeared in 20 games, recording 181 total scrimmage yards and a touchdown.
Arizona waived him on November 28, 2023, and the Chiefs added him to their practice squad three days later. He spent the remainder of last season with the Chiefs before being allowed to stay with the team for off-season workouts.
At 6-foot, 215 pounds, Ingram was the leading rusher for USC during his Senior year, registering 911 yards. He also contributed from the Longhorns’ backfield at Texas for three seasons before transferring to Southern California.
Deneric Prince
Deneric Prince signed with the Chiefs last year as an undrafted free agent out of Tulsa. As a rookie, Prince spent all of 2023 in Kansas City, spending time on the practice squad and the active roster. Prince appeared in two games, totaling 15 special teams snaps in Weeks 14 and 15.
Prince received plenty of off-season hype as a rookie a year ago but it eventually showed that he needed time to develop. Going into this season, eyes will be on him as he competes for a more prominent role on the roster.
Louis Rees-Zammit
Perhaps the most intriguing prospect on the whole roster, former ruby player Louis Rees-Zammit has received a good share of off-season buzz ever since he decided to give American Football a shot and sign with the defending champs.
Zammit is listed on the roster as a running back, but the sky is the limit for all the different ways the Chiefs coaching staff plans to use him on offense and special teams. Following off-season workouts over the spring, Rees-Zammit that he can contribute as a running back, wide receiver, return specialist, and even as a kicker!
Special Teams Dave Toub had nothing but praise for Rees-Zammit when he spoke to the media in late May. “Louis has done above and beyond what I expected,” he told the media. “He can kick field goals and kick-off. He could be a kickoffguy for us. He’s every bit as good as [safety] Justin [Reid] is at moving the football on kickoffs,” Toub explained.
“He’s also working really hard at the returner job.,” he continued. “I have him in there as a starter right now so he gets as many reps as he can. He wants to be great, and he’s a great athlete. [But] he has such a long way to go football-wise mentally,” he acknowledged. “[His teammates] have been playing since fourth grade, and he hasn’t played football until now. There’s a long way to go with that part of it, but he’s on the accelerated program, and he’s doing well.”
Carson Steele
Carson Steele is another one of general manager Brett Veach’s undrafted free agent signees this spring. Steele is a freak of an athlete who can bench 450 pounds and squat 675 pounds. He registered 1,556 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns in 2022 while attending Ball State, earning All-Conference honors.
The following season, he transferred to UCLA, where he rushed for 847 yards – leading the team in rushing – and eight total touchdowns. At 6-foot, 215 pounds, Steeles has the size to be a tough runner to bring down and also gives the Chiefs an effective lead blocker, if they decide to utilize a designated full back on the roster.
Bottom Line
Pacheco is the unquestioned starter and CEH will see playing time as long as he’s healthy. Rees-Zammit will probably get plenty of snaps during the preseason, and whether or not he succeeds will depend on how much playing time he gets during the regular season. The rest will compete for a possible fourth spot on the depth chart or a position on the practice squad.
