{"id":48409,"date":"2025-04-15T07:38:50","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T07:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=48409"},"modified":"2025-04-15T07:38:50","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T07:38:50","slug":"nfl-insider-confirms-chiefs-interest-in-2-time-1000-yard-rusher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=48409","title":{"rendered":"NFL Insider Confirms Chiefs&#8217; Interest in 2-Time 1,000-Yard Rusher"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Andy-Reid60-e1744661037735.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Andy-Reid60-e1744661037735.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Andy-Reid60-e1744661037735.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Andy-Reid60-e1744661037735.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"NFL Insider Confirms Chiefs' Interest in 2-Time 1,000-Yard Rusher\" width=\"780\" height=\"433\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p>Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs appear to have interest in a specific running back prospect after all.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Weeks after their reported interest back on March 28, the Kansas City Chiefs are indeed hosting Miami Hurricanes running back Damien Martinez on a top 30 NFL draft visit.<\/p>\n<p>FOX Sports NFL insider Jordan Schultz confirmed this on April 14. Relaying: \u201cSource: Miami RB Damien Martinez is visiting the Chiefs today and tomorrow. He has also visited the [Dallas] Cowboys and [Miami] Dolphins.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA big, physical back at 6-0, 217 pounds, Martinez \u2013 who just turned 21 \u2013 averaged 6.2 YPC last season with 10 TDs and clocked a solid 4.51 40-time,\u201d the insider added.<\/p>\n<p>The Draft Network\u2019s Ryan Fowler initially reported that Martinez would meet with the Chiefs before the NFL draft. However, that visit was never confirmed. Until now.<\/p>\n<p>Martinez was a two-time 1,000-yard rusher at the collegiate level. With over 3,000 rushing yards throughout his three-year career split between Oregon State and Miami.<\/p>\n<p>The Athletic\u2019s lead draft analyst Dane Brugler ranked him 16th for this 2025 running back class. Although others like Pro Football Focus have ranked Martinez within the top 10.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Jury Is Still out on \u2018Dirty Work\u2019 RB Damien Martinez Ahead of NFL Draft<\/h2>\n<p>This is a strong running back class in 2025, and Martinez has some traits that are reminiscent of Chiefs starter Isiah Pacheco. Having said that, why is there no clear consensus in where the Miami product ranks?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMartinez is an early-down NFL back with good size and a play style to match, carrying high forced missed tackle averages,\u201d PFF noted. \u201cHe will likely be the physical component of a committee unless he can significantly improve his pass-blocking fundamentals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>PFF also had Martinez ahead of several backs that Brugler projected higher within his draft guide, \u201cThe Beast.\u201d They were Oregon\u2019s Jordan James, Georgia\u2019s Trevor Etienne, Virginia Tech\u2019s Bhayshul Tuten, Auburn\u2019s Jarquez Hunter, Kansas State\u2019s DJ Giddens, Oklahoma State\u2019s Ollie Gordon and Kansas\u2019 Devin Neal \u2014 who was at KC\u2019s local pro day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMartinez uses his patience, physicality and balance to pick through contact \u2014 a sizable chunk (71 percent) of his 2024 yardage came after contact,\u201d Brugler scouted. \u201cThough he often finds the right lane, he is more of a one-speed guy and gives pursuit a chance to close on him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOverall, Martinez doesn\u2019t have the burst or wiggle to consistently make defenders miss,\u201d the draft expert went on, explaining his projection. \u201cBut he can power through\/over them and prides himself on his finishing ability to churn out positive yards. He can be a \u2018dirty work\u2019 runner on an NFL depth chart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The obvious issue with that is the Chiefs already have two \u201cdirty work\u201d guys in Pacheco and veteran Kareem Hunt. Unless the plan is to draft Martinez and let those two walk in free agency in 2026.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Chiefs Potential NFL Draft Target Nate Noel Connected to New Suitors: Report<\/h2>\n<p>Along with Neal, Missouri running back Nate Noel was at the Kansas City local pro day.<\/p>\n<p>On April 14, KPRC 2 NFL insider Aaron Wilson noted that Noel has also garnered the attention of the aforementioned Dolphins and the Houston Texans.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMissouri standout Nate Noel is another intriguing option in deep NFL Draft 2025 running back class,\u201d Wilson wrote on X. Adding that Noel was present at the Chiefs and Dolphins\u2019 local pro days, with the Texans also showing \u201cinterest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNearly 4,000 career rushing yards, plus return skills,\u201d the insider continued. \u201cMultiple calls [with] NFL running back coaches throughout [the draft] process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael Obermuller covers the NFL for Heavy.com, where he began writing in 2021. His areas of focus specialize on the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers, with expert knowledge on each based on years of coverage. An NYC area native and Quinnipiac graduate, his previous bylines include Heavy on Jets, FanDuel&#8217;s The Duel, King Fantasy Sports and Pro Football Mania. More about Michael Obermuller<\/p>\n<h2>More Heavy on Chiefs News<\/h2>\n<p>Loading more stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Kansas City Chiefs are hosting a running back prospect on an NFL draft visit just before the deadline, weeks after rumored interest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":48410,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>NFL Insider Confirms Chiefs&#039; Interest in 2-Time 1,000-Yard Rusher - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=48409\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NFL Insider Confirms Chiefs&#039; 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