The Kansas City Chiefs have made a lot of moves this offseason to fix their offensive problems. One of the areas they had trouble in all of last season was in the backfield. The Chiefs could not get a consistent run game going last season.
One reason that was the case was due to the injury to starting running back Isiah Pacheco. Pacheco was out for most of the season until the final games of the season. The team did bring in Kareem Hunt but he only had a few good games.
Now going into the new season, the Chiefs' offense needs some type of run game to give quarterback Patrick Mahomes. NFL defenses key in on the Chiefs' passing game because they know that after the first down, the Chiefs are likely to pass the ball.
One of their free-agent signings was Elijah Mitchell, who came over from the San Francisco 49ers. Mitchell is a good back and has explosiveness as well. Mitchell will take some pressure off of Mahomes and should share some of the load with Pacheco.
Mitchell knows what the Chiefs are all about and is ready for his new team and new role.
"He's got a little quickness and speed,'' said Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. "He's also got the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield or [the Chiefs can] flex him out. When he was healthy, he did a pretty good job in San Francisco.''
"Mitchell is a different type of back from either of the Chiefs' other top two, Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco," said Adam Teicher of ESPN. "Mitchell is faster, having run the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds when he was coming out for the 2021 NFL draft. At 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds, he is also much different from the player he replaces on the roster, Samaje Perine."
"I just call it adding to the room,'' said Chiefs running back Mitchell. "Whatever it takes, whatever role I get, that's what it's going to be for me. The things they do on offense is everything I did when I was in San Fran.''
The Chiefs now have a good running back room that can share the carries and keep a fresh back on the field when needed.
