Brashard Smith's Time To Shine Is Coming

The Kansas City Chiefs continue to struggle to run the football effectively despite their offensive explosion in Week 4. Rookie running back Brashard Smith was more involved than ever before in the 37-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. Smith should continue receiving opportunities to fix Andy Reid's backfield woes.

Patrick Mahomes was 25-of-37 for 270 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver Xavier Worthy actually led the Chiefs in rushing with 38 yards via two attempts. Isiah Pacheco rushed for 35 yards on seven carries.

Through approximately a quarter of the 2025 campaign, Mahomes still leads the Chiefs in rushing with 130 yards. Pacheco hasn't rushed for a touchdown yet and is averaging a pedestrian 4.0 yards per carry. The aging Kareem Hunt has been even less effective, averaging 3.2 yards per carry.

Smith played a career-high 19 snaps against the Ravens. He rushed for nine yards on four attempts. Notably, Smith was more productive as a pass-catching back. The former SMU standout registered three receptions for 27 yards.

Smith was on the field for 26% of the Chiefs' offensive snaps. His previous high was 13% in Week 1. The seventh-round rookie played just eight fewer snaps than Pacheco (27), with Hunt playing a position-high 32 snaps. Coach Reid is searching for solutions, and Smith's passing-down production earned him extensive looks.

The Chiefs' offensive line is struggling to create rushing lanes for their backs to exploit. Their 66% run-blocking win rate (RBWR) ranks dead-last in the NFL, according to ESPN Analytics. Kingsley Suamataia, Jawaan Taylor, and Josh Simmons haven't been consistent enough as run blockers.

Pacheco and Hunt aren't helping themselves by making defenders miss. Taking minimum qualifiers into account, Pacheco ranks 33rd among running backs in yards after contact per attempt (2.81), per Pro Football Focus. Hunt is 54th (2.03). Running backs who don't consistently break past initial contact, paired with an offensive line that struggles to run block, is predictably a bad combination.

Smith actually leads all Chiefs ball-carriers in yards after contact per attempt with an average of 3.14. It strongly suggests Reid needs to provide him with more opportunities. Smith may hold the key to the Chiefs' run-game improvement.

As a receiver, Smith had an Expected Points Added (EPA) of 0.25 per play and 1.0 overall against the Ravens, per RBSDM. Pacheco had a negative EPA of -0.3. The Chiefs' offense is more dangerous and efficient when Smith is on the field.

The Chiefs' rushing attack is so consistently pathetic that we wouldn't be shocked if they traded for a running back. Alvin Kamara and Tony Pollard could be among the veteran ball-carriers available. Obviously, such a deal would limit Smith's involvement moving forward.

The Chiefs' 19th-ranked rushing offense is overly reliant on Mahomes creating with his legs. Coach Reid's ground-and-pound approach lacks consistency in the backfield. All of the advanced stats and metrics suggest Smith has been their most efficient threat, and his Week 4 usage indicates the coaching staff is beginning to realize that. Smith deserves more opportunities to impact the offense.