Kansas City Chiefs rookie running back Brashard Smith has two traits that could make him a very impactful addition to the KC offense in 2025: Speed and third-down ability as a potential receiver out of the backfield.
Smith ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. He also contributed 300-plus receiving yards twice throughout his collegiate career, with a third season that topped 260 receiving yards.
On May 15, ESPN analyst and former NFL defensive back Louis Riddick highlighted Smith as a potential rookie to watch in 2025. And he had an enticing pro comparison for the SMU speedster.
“Keep an eye on this kid Brashard Smith from SMU, who they drafted in the seventh [round],” Riddick said on NFL Live. “He is an Alvin Kamara clone with like 4.3 speed.”
“They have got a lot of things going on in Kansas City,” Riddick continued. Concluding: “Hey man, they may have addressed their issues as good as anybody.”
Is There Any Truth to Brashard Smith, Alvin Kamara Comp?
If Smith is half the player that Kamara — a five-time Pro Bowler and career 5,000-yard receiving running back (including playoffs) — has been, the Chiefs will have struck gold in round seven.
But is there any truth to this comparison?
Kamara has never been an elite runner of the football, despite his rise to stardom in New Orleans. Since entering the league as a third-round pick in 2017, the Saints’ playmaker has actually never recorded a 1,000-yard season on the ground.
Surprisingly, the closest he came was actually in 2024, rushing for 950 yards at age 29.
With that in mind, Kamara has never accumulated fewer than 1,000 scrimmage yards, and four of his NFL campaigns finished at or over 1,500 scrimmage yards.
In other words, Kamara’s impact has been felt in the passing game more often than not. And that appears to be Smith’s most likely avenue of production as well.
The rookie did break out for 1,332 rushing yards with SMU during his final season, but he mostly lined up at wide receiver before that in Miami, and rushed for pedestrian totals in that role.
It’s unclear if Smith’s raw and unpolished ability as a runner will translate at the NFL level, but his pass-catching should. Especially if head coach Andy Reid utilizes the running back prospect creatively in the screen game.
Expectations should be measured, but perhaps there are similarities between Smith and Kamara after all.
Brashard Smith’s Presence Is Bad News for Chiefs RBs Elijah Mitchell & Carson Steele
Veteran running back Kareem Hunt has come up as a potential cut candidate in recent weeks, but the Smith selection could bode badly for free agent signing Elijah Mitchell and/or 2024 UDFA Carson Steele.
Hunt could certainly be released due to his age alone, let’s say he appears to have lost a step this summer, but Smith’s presence as a third-down option feels more worrisome for Mitchell and Steele.
Mitchell is by no means a receiving back on the level of Kamara, or even ex-Chiefs’ Jerick McKinnon or Samaje Perine, but he did record 19 catches for 137 receiving yards as a rookie. That was a long time ago, but it was also the only year Mitchell was given a true starter’s workload in San Francisco.
If Hunt and Smith make the team behind Isiah Pacheco, it’s hard to see where Mitchell fits into this backfield.
Steele provides that Kyle Juszczyk-type skillset as a playmaking fullback at heart. He adds a pair of reliable hands in the receiving game, as well as more of a blocking prowess than Smith, but he doesn’t have the speed that the rookie draft pick does.
Still, Steele’s uniqueness makes him a candidate to sneak on the 53-man roster once again. Perhaps in place of Hunt, or Mitchell, or both.
