Despite appearing in three consecutive Super Bowls and winning two of them, there are still some rather glaring holes in the Kansas City Chiefs roster. Having finished the 2024 regular season with just 1,790 total rushing yards—22nd fewest in the league— the running back position seems to be one of the more prominent needs of the team heading into 2025.
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Seeing as the team’s leading rusher was 29-year-old Kareem Hunt, who operated on a one-year deal, one analyst is forecasting the Chiefs to address this need in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft. In the latest upload of the How ‘Bout Those Chiefs’ YouTube page, Cole DeRuse suggested that Kansas City could be adding a CFP champion to their backfield.
In highlighting the sheer amount of RB talent that is scattered throughout this year’s draft, DeRuse suggested that Ohio State’s Quinshon Judkins could be the perfect fit for this Chiefs team.
“He is a rugged back that is not afraid of contact, doesn’t shy away from it at all, yet has pretty decent vision with good contact balance and has no problem breaking tackles.”
In addition to capping off his college career with a national championship, Judkins averaged 5.5 yards per carry en route to a 1,060 rushing yard season. Averaging 1,261 rushing yards a season, he scored a total of 50 touchdowns throughout his three years at the collegiate level.
There are very few running backs who proved to be more productive than Judkins. In addition to his rushing prowess, the former Buckeye also proved to be a competent pass catcher, averaging 7.3 receiving yards throughout the 2024 season.
Given that the aggressive running styles of Hunt and Isiah Pacheco were looked favorably upon by Andy Reid and the Chiefs faithful, DeRuse believes that the bruising nature of the 221lbs Judkins makes him the perfect candidate to take over as the bell cow back for Kansas City in 2025.
However, there was also one other FBS rusher who caught the analyst’s eye. Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson, who spent the duration of his entire collegiate career with Volunteers, proves to be just as dangerous in a completely different manner. While he may be 20 pounds lighter, he is measurably quicker than Judkins and notably stiffer at the goal line.
Having forced 83 missed tackles, Sampson scored 22 times for Tennessee in 2024 while producing nearly 1,500 rushing yards. While he did manage to average 5.8 yards per carry, DeRuse warned that –
“The only issue here with Sampson is fumbles. The guy has got to clean that up. As of right now, that is a bit of a concern.”
Given the championship caliber of the Chiefs’ current form, they may be inclined to take the more surefire option in Judkins rather than taking a risk on the upside of Sampson.
While the idea of Kansas City adding a championship running back to its roster may send shivers down the spines of football fans across the country, it’s certainly not as big of a concern as the instance in which the Buffalo Bills allowed Xavier Worthy to fall to their rivals in last year’s draft.
Nevertheless, fans should be prepared to see the Chiefs end up with a talented back on draft night, as there are more than enough to go around at the moment. In what is shaping to be a special year for the running back position, the needs of Kansas City will certainly be met one way or another.
