The Kareem Hunt Transformation

[Direckshun]

We need to talk more thoroughly and more focused about this specific addition. I can't remember a more fringe midseason addition having this kind of impact on the team.

How unlikely all of this is and seems.

After re-watching the last couple of games, I think I can comfortably say that age-29, sitting-on-the-couch-weeks-ago, 2024 Kareem Hunt has helped transform this offense, along with the incredible play-style flexibility of Mahomes and Andy Reid.

This is a guy who was run out on a rail for lying to the owner's face, seemingly banished from KC forever as an example to all players, it would seem, to do whatever you need to do in the world but you always shoot Clark Hunt straight.

And we add him back, albeit in desperation. This offense was supposed to be a high octane machine, but we no longer had the ability to field an effective WR corps due to injury, and then we lose our best RB as well.

So we add Hunt to somehow alleviate the situation. But what he did was transform it.

The Chiefs were already on their way to playing more conservative, possession-passing offense with lots of running when they added Hunt due to all of the injuries they were sustaining. They were as efficient as you could hope for, but the offense was looking bogged down, with Kelce lagging in production and the LT position dragging the entire offense down.

Adding Hunt has somehow, some way, allowed the Chiefs to effectively play the style they were already trying to play. They are converting third downs at historic rates, they are winning time of possession by entire kilometers now rather than losing time of possession, which they did for the first few years of Mahomes. They regularly have six-, seven-, eight-minute drives and drain the will of defenses.

It's a complete about-face from what they wanted to play this season, and I think it's really only as efficient as it is because Hunt is playing so well. You can put that on Thuney/Creed/Trey as well, but nobody after Pacheco was playing this well behind that line. Kareem's allowed this transition to thrive in KC.

The addition of Hopkins only allows them to be more efficient, and when December/January arrives, when Pacheco will be back to split carries with Hunt (maybe even taking most of them away), it wouldn't surprise me if Hopkins was the more impactful midseason acquisition when it's all said and done.

But we need to commemorate this moment, and remember what Kareem allowed this team to do in the middle of the season, while our injuries was hollowed out so much of our offensive talent, and yet the team kept winning with the offense putting up good statlines.

I just never would have bet on any of that happening.