Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt has been one of the pleasant surprises of the 2024 NFL season. Since signing with the Chiefs, he’s been one of the most productive running backs in the league. However, Hunt is currently dealing with an injury. What happened to Hunt, and will he be able to play against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 8?
What Happened to Kareem Hunt?
Hunt is dealing with a hip ailment, and he was limited in practice on Wednesday. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be sidelined in Week 8.
Keep an eye on the practice reports throughout the rest of the week, and then check the Chiefs’ injury report on Friday to see if Hunt has an injury designation for the Raiders game.
If Hunt is out, that would be a huge blow for a Chiefs team that hasn’t been able to catch a break injury-wise. This season, they have lost Rashee Rice, Isiah Pacheco, Hollywood Brown, and JuJu Smith-Schuster to varying degrees, among others.
During the Chiefs’ Week 7 win over the San Francisco 49ers, Hunt rushed 22 times for 78 yards and two touchdowns. On the season, Hunt has rushed 63 times for 249 yards and three touchdowns.
Fantasy Outlook for Hunt and the Chiefs
Hunt has settled in as the lead back in Kansas City by posting a snap share north of 60% in consecutive contests, and why wouldn’t they continue to trust the veteran? All he has done in those games is turn 49 carries into 180 yards and three scores.
In 2017, Kareem Hunt led the NFL in rushing yards, DeAndre Hopkins led the league in receiving touchdowns, and Travis Kelce led all tight ends in receptions.
Those are currently the top weapons the Chiefs are relying on in 2024 as they aim for a three-peat. pic.twitter.com/jxqQGAL7Kg
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 23, 2024
The lack of explosive potential is moderately annoying (none of those carries have gained more than 13 yards), but beggars can’t be choosers; if you added Hunt, you’re turning a weekly profit for the league’s best offense in terms of success rate.
The Raiders have allowed an RB to reach 15.5 fantasy points in every game this season (Chuba Hubbard, J.K. Dobbins, and Najee Harris all cleared 20 points), in large part because they have allowed the fourth-most yards per carry after contact to running backs this season.
There are plenty of sustainability questions to ask about the Chiefs, but their backfield isn’t one of them. Hunt deserves to be locked into fantasy lineups across the board until otherwise noted (my guess is that he is a top-15 option at the position until we get some sort of update on Pacheco).
If Hunt is sidelined, the Chiefs will lean on some combination of Samaje Perine, Carson Steele, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire.