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With the 228th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs selected SMU running back Brashard Smith.
What can Smith bring to the Chiefs? Here’s what you need to know:
Background
Smith hasn’t been playing running back for very long. Coming out of high school, Smith was a four-star receiving prospect who had interest from schools such as Alabama, LSU, Oregon, Penn State, and Michigan. Smith ended up playing at Miami, where he spent three seasons playing wide receiver.
Wide receiver wasn’t great for Smith. Over three seasons, he caught 69 passes, 770 yards, and four touchdowns. After three seasons, Smith transferred to SMU to play for head coach Rhett Lashlee, the offensive coordinator at Miami and recruited him. Lashlee recruited Smith to SMU, but with the idea of switching him to be a full-time running back.
Smith converted to running back last season and had great results. In 14 games, Smith finished with 235 carries, 1,332 rushing yards (5.7 yards per carry), and 14 touchdowns. Smith also had his best receiving season with 39 catches, 327 receiving yards, and four touchdowns. Smith made first-team All-ACC and was voted third-team All-American by the Associated Press.
Smith is a smaller running back coming from a slot background. He’s only 5’9” and 194 lbs. Smith’s athletic testing was interesting. His 4.39 40-yard dash and 1.54 10-yard split are elite times, but he didn’t do as well on vertical or broad jumps. This backs up some of what I see on film, but I was surprised his jumps weren’t better than that.
Film evaluation
First, the biggest strength of Smith’s game is his speed in open space. While I expected Smith to be more explosive at the combine, I see where some of those concerns appear on film. Smith doesn’t necessarily hit the hole super fast or with a lot of burst.
However, once he gets past the second level, Smith’s long speed takes over, and he can fly by defenders. Smith takes a beat to get into first gear, but once he hits the third or fourth gear, he can sprint past defenders in open space.
Smith isn’t just fast but also creative with the ball. He moves like a joystick in space. He can cut, spin, or change directions at high speeds and not lose any acceleration. Running backs often have to stop or slow down to cut and make players miss, but Smith can do it at high speeds. Smith will have some incredible highlights in the open field.
With Smith’s receiving background, he is good out of the backfield. You would wish Smith had a deeper route tree than he showed, but I don’t see this as a real issue. The main value of Smith as a receiver is his potential to run wheel routes downfield or catch a pass in the flat and make someone miss. With running backs, I feel like people tend to overrate route trees. Unless you’re a Christian McCaffrey or Alvin Kamara route runner, most routes are just checkdowns. You prefer someone who can make plays in space, and Smith does that.
For weaknesses, Smith’s lack of size is a limitation. He’s not going to be able to handle interior runs. Smith won’t move piles or break tackles with contact balance. From a load standpoint, it’s hard to envision anything beyond third downs on a rotation basis. I think you can get Smith 10-15 carries, but beyond that, you’re risking injury.
The other concern I have with Smith is that getting into gear takes him a bit. You wish he had more pop and explosiveness off the handoff. In an outside zone offense, you want him to he could hit the edge quicker, but it takes him time to get there, and defenders can catch up to him.
How he fits with the Chiefs
It’s an easy comparison, but the Jerick McKinnon role makes so much sense for Smith. Like McKinnon, Smith can catch, has great long speed, and can make defenders miss in space. Both are small running backs that don’t necessarily hit a hole super fast, but when they do, they can make big plays. McKinnon is stiffer than Smith, but I would give McKinnon an advantage in short-area burst.
For the 2025 Chiefs, I envision Smith as the third-down back. If he can pick up pass protection quickly, there’s a gaping hole on the roster for that spot. He’ll get opportunities in the screen game often. Besides that, he’ll rotate in with Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco, but I don’t envision too many early down handoffs this season.
The bottom line
Between Smith and wide receiver Jalen Royals, I appreciate the Chiefs’ desire to get electric players with the ball in their hands. Last year’s team lacked anyone who could do that. Even Xavier Worthy, who has elite speed, doesn’t have the size or juking ability to do a ton after the catch. With Rashee Rice back and these two players, that element will be back in the offense.
Smith’s role is easier to project than that of the Royals, but having more players across the field who can take a simple pass and do something with it would be nice. Things have been too congested and difficult for the Chiefs to generate yards since trading Tyreek Hill. With these players, I think you can get excited about adding more layers to the offense and being more explosive.
