Carson

Steele

An UDFA out of UCLA, Steele ended up a fullback who wasn’t, primarily playing traditional running back. Limited to 63 uninspiring touches despite Isiah Pacheco’s nine-game absence with a broken leg, Steele seemed to lose the coaching staff’s trust on offense after losing two fumbles across his first four appearances. Although he remains eight months shy of his 23rd birthday, Steele did not demonstrate enough rookie upside to guarantee his 53-man roster spot for 2025.

Steele was unable to make magic happen in this one despite leading the Chiefs in touches. Steele has proven himself as a capable ball carrier with Patrick Mahomes under center but playing well in an offense led by Carson Wentz is a far different ask. Steele will not be fantasy-relevant following the Chiefs’ first-round bye.

If you were curious: Hunt’s previous career-high in targets was nine, and he had not been targeted more than seven times in any game since the novel coronavirus hit. Denver’s defense came after Patrick Mahomes with such gusto that he was forced to make Hunt a checkdown target, and a 26-yard catch-and-run after avoiding the sack narrowly edged Hunt over Travis Kelce as the No. 1 Chiefs receiver by yardage on the day. Non-Hunt running backs received two carries on the day in 19 snaps, almost all of which were on passing downs. Hunt will be a volume low-end RB1 play against the Bills next week.

Steele remains a mid-tier bench stash given Kareem Hunt’s rushing inefficiency but Steels offers no real standalone value. He is a capable tackle-breaker but is a fullback at heart. He should not be started against the Buccaneers in Week 9.

Steele again played well behind lead back Kareem Hunt. Samaje Perine had two rushing attempts and caught his only target. If Hunt were to miss time, Steele and Perine would likely split the team’s backfield workload.

Edwards-Helaire is eligible to return for the Chiefs’ Week 5 game against the Saints. He enters a crowded, yet starless backfield and can be speculatively added to fantasy benches. Kareem Hunt likely beat out both Carson Steele and Samaje Perine for the lead role last week and it remains unclear as to how Edwards-Helaire will fit into the rotation, though his experience in the system is a positive.

Beat writers don’t write long pieces about guys they don’t expect to play, and Taylor writes that Carson Steele will be the primary backup “if that happens” while Samaje Perine would remain the third-down back. Hunt looks like a low-end RB2/RB3 for Week 5. Hunt reportedly endeared himself to the organization in his free-agent visit by “demonstrat[ing] appropriate accountability about his mistakes earlier in his career.” It sure looks like Hunt could keep the lead back role in Kansas City for most of this year as Isiah Pacheco works back from his fibula surgery.

Steele lost a fumble in the first quarter and didn’t see much playing time from there. Kareem Hunt took over as the Chiefs’ clear-cut No. 1 back, seeing 14 of the team’s 21 rushing attempts. Steele likely won’t be a part of the Kansas City backfield going forward.

Hunt, signed a couple weeks ago after Isiah Pacheco went down with a leg injury, took command of the Kansas City backfield in this one. The former Browns back saw 14 of the team’s 21 rushing attempts and had three of the team’s four running back targets. Carson Steele lost an early fumble, essentially ending his bid to serve as the Chiefs’ top back. Samaje Perine, meanwhile, had five carries for 14 yards and a short touchdown. Hunt could be very interesting for fantasy purposes if he takes on enough of the team’s pass-game role along with rushing opportunities. He should be rostered in all leagues.

In a corresponding move, they waived RB Keontay Ingram. Welcome to the three-man committee backfield, folks. It feels likely that Hunt will cut into Carson Steele’s snaps, but we’re not going to have more than a vague coach quote idea or notion to go on for Week 4. Steele and Samaje Perine each lose a bit of value in the short-term as we try to suss out how the pecking order will go. Hunt rushed for 411 yards and nine touchdowns on 135 carries for the Browns last year.