Daniel Jeremiah Reveals Potential 2024 NFL Draft RB Target for Chiefs
With the 2024 NFL Draft approaching, Daniel Jeremiah tabbed the Chiefs as a team that makes sense for a standout Tennessee halfback.
As of now, the Kansas City Chiefs' running back room has a relatively defined one-two punch of Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire on the depth chart. With Jerick McKinnon still on the free agent market and not much valuable depth present on the team, though, there's room for an addition.
Could the 2024 NFL Draft be an avenue for said pickup? It makes sense, specifically on Days Two and Three in late April. One prominent draft mind hinted at Kansas City being a great fit for one standout prospect.
In this annual pre-draft conference call, NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah fielded plenty of questions on this year's class and provided tidbits on where teams stand. The Chiefs were mentioned just once, although Jeremiah has them in mind for Tennessee halfback Jaylen Wright.
"Look, Jaylen Wright's so explosive and so dynamic," Jeremiah began. "In terms of finding fits for him and those guys, look, the speed play is anywhere. I always go back to Kansas City continuing to add speed. I don't care how many running backs, how many guys they have. When I see guys with big- time juice like that, that's the first team that jumps into my mind. I think he goes in the -- I think he'll go in the third round would be my guess of where he ends up going."
Wright, who measures up at 5-foot-10 and weighs 210 pounds, broke out in his final season with the Volunteers. Toting the ball 137 times in 12 games, he amassed 1,017 yards (7.4 yards per attempt) and rushed for four touchdowns. He also factored into the receiving game, hauling in 22 passes for 141 more yards. His yard-per-carry average ranked third in the nation, with his all-purpose yardage total landing 42nd.
Jeremiah mentioned Wright's speed as a selling point, and it's an obvious plus. He's a great athlete, which was backed up by his pre-draft testing. Wright ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash with tremendous speed splits and a 38-inch vertical jump. On top of that, his 11-foot broad jump helped him generate a 9.81 Relative Athletic Score. The speed and quickness show up in how Wright can make the most of angles and threaten to take any run to the house.
In 2023, Wright expanded his game and became more of a presence in the passing game. He's still a work in progress as a route runner and blocker, but his improvement was noticeable. The downsides with Wright's profile largely pertain to vision, processing, decision-making and well-roundedness. He doesn't see the field extremely well, which has a ripple effect on which gaps he chooses (or avoids). While the progress in pass protection and receiving is nice, he still has a ways to go.
Overall, Wright would undoubtedly give the Chiefs more speed and athleticism in the running back room. With that said, there's some overlap with Edwards-Helaire's passing game skill set and Pacheco's schematic running forte. If he were the pick at 95th overall, it may be a bit rich. On the other hand, Edwards-Helaire is only on a one-year contract and roster-building is just as much a long-term play as an immediate one.
