Kareem

Hunt

He added one catch for six yards on his only target. Hunt took a first-and-10 from the Buffalo 12 for a score on Kansas City’s opening drive, Hunt appeared to leave the field with injury a few times, though it was never serious enough for him to not check back in. It wouldn’t be surprising if he popped up on the injury report before the Super Bowl. Hunt had 38 snaps, easily outperforming Isiah Pacheco, and if healthy will come into the Super Bowl as Kansas City’s lead back.

With everything on the line, Hunt ran ahead of Isiah Pacheco, who doesn’t seem to be over his regular season injury issues. That would make Hunt “the DFS play” for conference championship weekend, but this will be a backfield best avoided if you can afford to do so.

Mahomes now gets multiple weeks off, with the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed safely secured. The Chiefs also declared TE Travis Kelce, DT Chris Jones, OT Jawaan Taylor, RB Isiah Pacheco, CB Trent McDuffie and DE George Karlaftis inactive, though beat reporter Adam Teicher notes that there “will be others in uniform who do not play.” Kareem Hunt is likely to be included in the latter category. The team listed him as doubtful to play on Friday although he is not injured.

Carson Wentz will draw the start this week. Reid didn’t name every starter getting the day off, but our best guess for the list of names includes Travis Kelce, Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt, DeAndre Hopkins, Xavier Worthy, and Hollywood Brown. Expect others to make the cut as well. The Chiefs are massive underdogs to the Broncos this week, all but guaranteeing Denver a spot in the playoffs.

The Chiefs rushed for just 69 yards in this contest with Isiah Pacheco also ineffective with just 18 yards on six carries before leaving with a ribs injury. Hunt was able to salvage the game with a short-yardage score. With the Chiefs clinching homefield advantage, there’s a good chance neither Hunt nor Pacheco get many carries in Week 18 against the Broncos.

He added a 2/24 line on three targets through the air. Hunt received three fewer snaps than Isiah Pacheco, but simply did more with them. The Chiefs line dominated and made a huge path for Hunt on his touchdown run, a three-yarder just before halftime. If you had to desperation FLEX Hunt, you were pleased with the results. He’ll remain on the desperation line against the Steelers next week as the Chiefs seem likely to keep this a full-blown committee after two weeks in a row of the same essential results.

With the Chiefs trying to bludgeon a non-competitive Browns team on the ground and get in and get out of Cleveland with a victory, Hunt saw his carries count improve from five to 13 even as Isiah Pacheco handled 13 totes of his own. Hunt was closer than Pacheco to feature back status for the second half as the Chiefs simply wound down the clock. Now with Patrick Mahomes battling an ankle injury on a short week, the backfield will undoubtedly be a Saturday emphasis against the Texans. Not enough to get Hunt close to the top 24, but “desperation FLEX” is probably achievable.

Hunt saw his snap rate and opportunities nerfed as Isiah Pacheco returned to a lead back role in his second game back from injury for the Chiefs. Pacheco’s 14 carries and four targets trumped the workload of Hunt, the latter of whom is now a clear change of pace option in Kansas City. Up next are the up-and-down Browns in Week 15.

No full-time role for Hunt is pretty much the end of his fantasy viability as a starter. He added two catches for zero yards on four targets. He doesn’t have to be outright dropped — you certainly could argue he’s droppable if you need a roster spot — but he can be safely benched in most leagues for the time being.

Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz was first with the news. The Chiefs will officially have their RB1 back for Friday’s game against the Raiders, meaning Kareem Hunt’s fantasy stock will take a bit of a hit. It’s unknown just how much Pacheco will play in his return, but the Chiefs were giving him a 42 percent opportunity share in the two games he appeared in. From a fantasy perspective, it’s probably best to take a cautious approach with Pacheco out of the gate. He should still have some RB2/RB3 upside, but if you think you have safer options, don’t hesitate to play them.