The Kansas City Chiefs are looking to make history with a Super Bowl three-peat. To fulfill that pursuit, they might need to take a closer look at their running backs room.
While Isiah Pacheco is the team’s No. 1 back and Clyde Edwards-Helaire looks to be RB2, Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay urged Kansas City to sign for former Buffalo Bills running back Latavius Murray.
Kay named Kansas City as a “realistic landing spot” for the veteran, who’s a free agent after signing a one-year, $1.3 million contract with Buffalo.
“Murray may not be a full-time starter anymore, but at the age of 34, he still has something to offer NFL teams,” Kay wrote. The analyst urged the Chiefs to “give Murray a call as they look to bolster their roster” toward another championship.
“Thus far, Kansas City has opted against bringing back fellow veteran Jerick McKinnon following his three-year stint at Arrowhead. Without McKinnon in the mix, the Chiefs could use a steady hand behind starter Isiah Pacheco… Murray’s ability to grasp a new offense and meaningfully contribute might be invaluable to a team that will have a target on its back every week and can’t afford to slip up in 2024.”
Last season, Murray appeared in 16 games and made four starts. Behind James Cook, Murray rushed 79 times for 300 yards and four touchdowns. The veteran also recorded 17 receptions for 119 yards.
While he started out strong, a few costly mistakes pushed Murray down the Bills’ depth chart by the end of the season. Entering his 11th season in the NFL, the UCF alum is motivated to prove age is just a number. “I’m not done,” he recently told Go Long’s Tyler Dunne. “Definitely not done.”
Latavius Murray Could Help Fill the Chiefs Pass-Blocking Void at RB
GettyFormer Bills running back Latavius Murray against Chiefs safety Justin Reid at Highmark Stadium on January 21, 2024.
SI’s Zack Eisen urged Kansas City to “sort out RB3 situation before the season starts.” While Edwards-Helaire is a “capable reserve” should Pacheco miss any time, “he no longer has the upside that was once promised.”
While Louis Rees-Zammit is earning high praise during OTAs, the former rugby star “has a huge learning curve ahead of him, making it unlikely that he will be a serious contributor on offense this season,” Eisen wrote.
McKinnon provided “excellent pass protection” and “that skill is the thing the Chiefs miss the most on the current running back depth chart.”
Murray, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound running back who excels at picking up blitzes, could help fill that void. Kay noted, “Murray has now tallied at least 300 yards and four touchdowns on the ground for 10 consecutive seasons. He’s done so while providing quality pass protection and value as a receiver, having notched at least 15 catches and 100 receiving yards in all but one season.”
While the Chiefs didn’t select a running back in the 2024 NFL draft, they landed numerous strong prospects. Two undrafted free agents, former TCU running back Emani Bailey and UCLA alum Carson Steele have a legit shot at making the 53-man roster.
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach alluded to a true competition for the spot. “That running back position will be a battle and usually it comes down to special teams and pass protector as a number three here, so I think all these guys have traits we like and now it’s just a matter of a couple of those guys putting together a solid training camp,” Veach said, per SI’s Jordan Foote.
“From a talent perspective, as you mentioned with Bailey and Steele we brought in and then last year (Deneric) Prince and Keaontay Ingram, all of those guys have talent and ability to play in this league,” Veach continued. “Now it’s just a matter of who can put together a solid training camp and earn the position.”
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