The Kansas City Chiefs have several issues to fix if they want to get back to elite contender status. Perhaps the most glaring weakness so far is their run game.
Three games into the 2025-26 campaign, quarterback Patrick Mahomes leads the roster in rushing yards (125) and touchdowns (2) despite being third in attempts. Neither Isiah Pacheco nor Kareem Hunt has picked up the slack, leading many to demand that an external acquisition be made.
With the November 4 trade deadline in mind, is that possible? In a September 24 story for ESPN, league insiders Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano opened their notebooks and shared what intel they’ve heard around the NFL. One of them dropped a halfback note that Chiefs fans may find particularly intriguing.
Insider Tabs Jaylen Wright as Name to Watch for Chiefs in Potential RB Trade Scenario
Fowler, like everyone else, knows help is on the way for the passing attack. Mahomes will soon be able to throw to wideouts Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice. The former is returning from injury in Week 4, then the latter will be back from suspension in Week 7.
That doesn’t solve the running back issue, however. Fowler believes if general manager Brett Veach is to make a call, it’d make sense to phone the Miami Dolphins to inquire about Jaylen Wright‘s availability.
“The Chiefs also need a lift on offense,” Fowler wrote. “Luckily for them, receivers Xavier Worthy (shoulder) and Rashee Rice (suspension) will return to the lineup before the deadline. Those two, Hollywood Brown and the resurgent Tyquan Thornton might be enough. But the running game still needs help. Miami isn’t playing running back Jaylen Wright, who had a lot of fans in the 2024 draft. It might be worth a call for Kansas City.”
Wright, a fourth-round pick in last year’s NFL Draft, played in 15 games as a rookie. Toting the ball 68 times, he mustered just a 3.7 yard-per-carry average and logged all of 8 receiving yards. It was an underwhelming debut campaign for the Tennessee product, followed by him failing to get a single rep in 2025-26 thus far.
There is some intrigue with Wright, though. At just 22 years old, he’s oozing with upside and has fresh legs. He also posted tremendous athletic testing scores during the pre-draft process, including a 4.38-second 40-yard dash. That, paired with multiple seasons left on his rookie-scale contract, makes him an appealing possibility in a trade.
If Kansas City moved for him, it wouldn’t be for immediate impact. Wright likely doesn’t solve their right-now issues at running back.
Does Kansas City Have an In-House 2025 Answer at RB?
Does anyone on the roster have a chance of doing so? The answer is complicated. Pacheco is still the team’s lead back for the time being, and he’s coming off his best game of the year. On 10 Week 3 attempts, he averaged 4.5 yards per carry and had multiple chunk runs. Poor vision remains an issue for Pacheco, however, and he looks every part of a former seventh-round pick.
Hunt is an interesting case. At 30 years old, he’s zapped of most of the athletic punch he packed early in his career. His average yards per attempt (3.5) reflects that. With that said, he does have a very clear-cut role in short-yardage and goal-line situations. Hunt’s 52.2 success rate isn’t much lower than the 55.5% mark he had last season.
The two most intriguing internal candidates are veteran Elijah Mitchell and rookie Brashard Smith. The problems with Mitchell are he’s several seasons removed from his great debut with the San Francisco 49ers and he’s been a healthy scratch this year. Smith, while a dynamic athlete and pass catcher, has a long way to go before being an every-down player (or anything close). Developing Smith on the fly or pivoting to Mitchell doesn’t appear to be in the cards.
The Chiefs can help themselves by opting for a power run game, going under center more, or both. Until something changes, perhaps it’s smart to continue examining potential adds from the outside like Wright.
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