The Kansas City Chiefs are in the midst of training camp after they had their first practice take place on July 22nd. This week had multiple players step up and show their teammates what they’ve worked on over the past couple of months. At the same time, several guys have fallen off.
The Chiefs re-tooled this offseason in several areas. In the running back room, Kansas City signed Elijah Mitchell in March on a one-year, $3.5 million deal. He joined Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt as veterans in the backfield. Then in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL draft, they snagged Brashard Smith.
That didn’t stop them from signing Elijah Young as an undrafted free agent, but due to all the competition in the backfield. It’ll be tough for Young to latch on to the 53-man roster.
Chiefs Rookie RB Elijah Young Will Have Tough Time Making Roster
Young spent his collegiate career between Missouri and Western Kentucky. The 2024 season was Young’s best campaign at WKU, where he recorded 883 rushing yards, 384 receiving yards, and five total touchdowns.
He is known for being shifty and quick in the open field, which is something that’s always intriguing to teams. Despite the traits, Young hasn’t been able to crack any type of starting reps in practice, which wasn’t expected.
Chiefs writer Matt Derrick reported that Mitchell, Hunt, and Pacheco have all received first-team reps while Smith has been sprinkled in there.
The biggest takeaway from Smith thus far is his soft hands coming out of the backfield. Over this past week, he’s been involved in the passing game and even reeled in a couple of passes from Patrick Mahomes. Even though pads aren’t on just yet, it’s been difficult to get hands on him as a defender.
Charles Goldman of A to Z Sports also wrote, “We’re already seeing that role begin to take root for the rookie ( Brashard) Smith through two days of practice. He’s getting opportunities with the first-team offense, working out of the backfield as a receiver for Patrick Mahomes.”
Smith’s impressive plays, in combination with the three veterans already in the backfield, and it’s clear why it will be tough for Young to make the team.
He will need to vastly stand out in his limited reps to get kept around, but from the outside looking in, it appears his time in Kansas City could be cut short.
