McKinnon will return to the Chiefs for a third season and is projected to be their top pass-catching back. He was fourth on the team in targets last year with 71, but his nine receiving touchdowns trailed only Travis Kelce. Considering that McKinnon only scored seven touchdowns on his first 257 career targets, you should expect some pretty significant regression in the touchdown department. That likely regression, paired with the fact that he has one regular season game as a Chief with double-digit carries, means he's best left as a dart throw in the double-digit rounds of Fantasy drafts. Playing with Patrick Mahomes does give him significant weekly touchdown upside; you just shouldn't expect anything like what you saw last year.
McKinnon has five touches or less in every game this season, but you saw his upside in this offense in Week 3 against Chicago. He had two carries for 9 yards and three catches for 19 yards and two touchdowns on three targets. The previous game at Jacksonville in Week 2, he had one carry for minus-2 yards and three catches for 24 yards on three targets, so there's plenty of downside if he doesn't score. This week, he's facing a Jets defense that is No. 4 in most receptions allowed to running backs with 20, so Patrick Mahomes will hopefully lean on McKinnon in the passing game. In deeper PPR leagues, McKinnon can be used as a flex.
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Chiefs' Jerick McKinnon: Week 4 Waiver Priority List
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McKinnon only had five touches in a blowout victory against Chicago and has just 10 touches on the season. But you should know by now what McKinnon is capable of in this offense, and he caught two touchdowns against the Bears. While Isiah Pacheco is off to a good start, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire will continue to have a role, the Chiefs will keep McKinnon active in the passing game, especially when they have more competitive matchups moving forward. He's a good running back to stash on your bench for up to 5 percent of your FAB.
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Chiefs' Jerick McKinnon: Scores two TDs on five touches
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McKinnon rushed twice for nine yards and caught all three of his targets for 19 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's 41-10 win over the Bears.
Head coach Andy Reid continued his red-zone excellence with a couple of play designs that allowed McKinnon to scamper across the goal line unscathed. The veteran back finished a distant third in backfield touches behind Isiah Pacheco (17) and Clyde Edwards-Helaire (16), so he needs to provide touchdowns to have fantasy relevance. Of course, the Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes under center, so it wouldn't be surprising to see another multi-score showing from McKinnon this season. That said, he will struggle to provide consistency on just a handful of touches per game.
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Chiefs' Jerick McKinnon: Quiet in win
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McKinnon caught all three of his targets for 24 yards and rushed once for minus-2 yards in Sunday's 17-9 win over the Jaguars.
After failing to record a carry and only securing one catch in Week 1, McKinnon's usage in Week 2 was a slight improvement. However, the veteran running back continues to be an afterthought in the Chiefs offensive attack. Patrick Mahomes has been spreading the ball around, targeting 12 different players through the air in Week 2. Additionally, fellow running back Isiah Pacheco continues to see the bulk of the snaps and touches out of the backfield. McKinnon will be difficult to trust for fantasy purposes going forward, including in a matchup with the Bears in Week 3.
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Chiefs' Jerick McKinnon: Minimal impact in opener
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McKinnon didn't record a carry but reeled in one of his two targets for 10 yards during Thursday's 21-20 loss to the Lions.
McKinnon is typically involved as a receiver, but he received just a pair of targets on 20 offensive snaps to open his 2023 campaign. He should continue to work in a committee with Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire, working primarily as a receiving specialist.
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Chiefs' Jerick McKinnon: Sleepers (Start/Sit)
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We likely won't know the status for Travis Kelce (knee) until Thursday, but if he's out or limited against Detroit then McKinnon should have an increased role in the passing game. If Kelce doesn't play then McKinnon is a strong flex option in PPR. Last year, McKinnon had six games with at least six targets, and he averaged 19.5 PPR points per game in those outings. He was aided by six total touchdowns over that span, but only one time did he fail to score at least 10.4 PPR points when he was heavily involved in the passing game.
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Chiefs' Jerick McKinnon: Week 1 Waiver Priority List
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McKinnon is locked into his role as the pass-catching back for the Chiefs, but it's a good role to have. He's worth adding in PPR for up to 5 percent of your remaining FAB. Last year, McKinnon was a monster to close the season when he scored nine touchdowns during a six-game scoring streak from Weeks 13-18. The touchdowns were awesome, but what I really liked was that he had three games with at least five receptions over that span. The added bonus this season is Patrick Mahomes could lean on McKinnon more since the Chiefs have a suspect receiving corps. It's easy to target McKinnon with a late-round pick in all leagues given his ADP.
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Chiefs' Jerick McKinnon: Wraps up light preseason usage
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McKinnon caught his only target for 23 yards in Saturday's 33-32 preseason win over the Browns.
McKinnon entered the game on the first offensive possession with the Chiefs facing a long third down and helped keep the possession alive with a 23-yard catch. He'll likely begin the season primarily working in passing situations, though he has stepped into a more significant role in the final weeks of each of the last two campaigns.
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Chiefs' Jerick McKinnon: Officially back with Kansas City
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Kansas City re-signed McKinnon on Tuesday, ESPN's Field Yates reports.
The Super Bowl champions did nothing to address their running back room in free agency or the draft prior to reuniting with McKinnon, who will slot in behind Isiah Pacheco atop the depth chart. Clyde Edwards-Helaire will open training camp as the distant No. 3 back. McKinnon caught a whopping nine touchdowns last season after entering 2022 with seven receiving TDs in his previous 87 NFL contests. That pace isn't sustainable, but McKinnon should remain heavily involved as a pass-catching complement to Pacheco after seeing 71 targets last year.
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Jerick McKinnon: Could sign with KC soon
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Chiefs GM Brett Veach said Monday that he "wouldn't be surprised" if the team re-signs McKinnon soon, Jordan Foote of Arrowhead Report reports.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network expects it to happen, and Veach himself mentioned the possibility less than two weeks ago. McKinnon turns 31 on Wednesday, and while he's lost much of the athleticism that made him a Workout Warrior and third-round pick back in 2014, the Chiefs seem to like what he offers on passing downs. He was the team's primary receiving back at times in 2021, then took over the role on a more permanent basis in 2022 en route to a 56-512-9 receiving line and 72-291-1 rushing line. It'll be a major surprise if he approaches double-digit TDs again, but McKinnon could have some fantasy value if he locks down a similar role, particularly in PPR leagues. Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire again appear to be the primary competition for backfield snaps, as the Chiefs didn't draft any running backs and haven't signed any veterans this offseason.
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Jerick McKinnon: Could sign with Chiefs again
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Chiefs GM Brett Veach said Thursday that he'll talk with McKinnon after the NFL Draft, Nate Taylor of The Athletic reports. "He's certainly a guy that we love," Veach said. "Jerick likes to take his time and make sure he's ready to go."
The Chiefs currently have only three running backs on their roster and seemingly will consider re-signing McKinnon if the soon-to-be 32-year-old wants to play another season. While he doesn't offer much in terms of elusiveness or explosiveness at this point in his career, McKinnon's reliable hands and firm grasp of the KC offense made him the preferred option on passing downs for part of 2021 and most of 2022. He parlayed the role into a 56-512-9 receiving line, albeit with only 72-291-1 on the ground while Isiah Pacheco handled a majority of the carries. Apart from Pacheco, the Chiefs have Clyde Edwards-Helaire and La'Mical Perine under contract ahead of the draft.
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Chiefs' Jerick McKinnon: Totals 49 yards in Super Bowl win
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McKinnon carried the ball four times for 34 yards in Sunday's 38-35 Super Bowl win over the Eagles. He added three receptions for 15 yards.
McKinnon remained in a clear backup role to Isiah Pacheco, though he made the most of his opportunities. His best sequence came on the Chiefs' opening possession of the second half, when he racked up 21 rushing yards to help set up a touchdown for Pacheco. McKinnon will hit free agency this offseason, though Kansas City may be inclined to bring him back on a short-term deal to continue to pair with Pacheco.
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Chiefs' Jerick McKinnon: Minor role in AFC title win
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McKinnon rushed four times for one yard and brought in two of four targets for 17 yards during the Chiefs' 23-20 win over the Bengals in Sunday's AFC Championship Game. He also recovered a fumble.
The veteran running back didn't see much of an uptick in pass-catching opportunity even as the Chiefs lost receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee), Kadarius Toney (ankle) and Mecole Hardman (pelvis) as the evening unfolded. McKinnon also filled his frequently modest role on the ground, although his recovery of a Travis Kelce fumble at the Bengals' 22-yard line late in the first quarter preserved a drive that subsequently culminated in a 24-yard Harrison Butker field goal. If backfield mate Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle, IR) is activated for the Super Bowl LVII matchup versus the Eagles in two weeks' time, McKinnon could see his touches reduce further in that contest.
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Chiefs' Jerick McKinnon: Disappoints against Jags
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McKinnon rushed the ball 11 times for 25 yards in Saturday's 27-20 win over the Jaguars.
McKinnon was stymied as a runner, and he was narrowly out-touched by Isiah Pacheco. While he was bottled up on the ground, the more surprising part of McKinnon's performance was the fact that he was not targeted in the passing game. That likely had to do with Patrick Mahomes' ankle injury early in the contest as well as the game script, and the Chiefs could opt to keep McKinnon in the backfield more regularly to serve as an extra blocker in next week's AFC Championship Game.
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Chiefs' Jerick McKinnon: Extends touchdown streak
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McKinnon tallied two rushes for six yards and hauled in two of three targets for no gain but scored a touchdown during Saturday's 31-13 victory against Las Vegas.
McKinnon didn't turn in his best fantasy effort of the bunch to close out the regular season, but he did extend his touchdown streak to six consecutive games with a receiving score against the Raiders, marking his eighth receiving touchdown over that span. He also added one rushing touchdown in that six-game stretch, giving him nine scores overall after tallying just one through the first 11 games. He figures to remain involved in Kansas City's backfield for the postseason run, presumably sharing reps with Isiah Pacheco and possibly Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle) if he's cleared to return.
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Chiefs' Jerick McKinnon: Two receiving scores in win
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McKinnon rushed twice for four yards and brought in five of six targets for 52 yards and two touchdowns in the Chiefs' 27-24 win over the Broncos on Sunday.
McKinnon's notable contributions unsurprisingly came through the air, with the elite pass-catching back scoring from six and three yards out in the second and fourth quarters, respectively. McKinnon now has seven receiving touchdowns in the last five contests, giving him plenty of momentum heading into a Week 18 road battle against the Raiders that he should see action in considering the Chiefs will still be battling for the top seed in the AFC.
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Chiefs' Jerick McKinnon: RBs to Start
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McKinnon caught another touchdown in Week 16 against Seattle, which was the fourth game in a row where he had a receiving score. That's tied for the longest streak for a running back since 1970. We'll see if he can make it five in a row against the Broncos, and he destroyed Denver in Week 14 with six carries for 22 yards and seven catches for 112 yards and two touchdowns on nine targets. He had a relatively quiet game against the Seahawks with five carries for 7 yards and three catches for 31 yards and a touchdown on three targets, and 12 PPR points is probably more in line with what you should expect. But he's hot right now, so keep him active in all leagues in Week 17.
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Chiefs' Jerick McKinnon: Cashes in receiving TD
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McKinnon rushed five times for seven yards and caught all three of his targets for 31 yards and a touchdown in Saturday's 24-10 win over Seattle.
McKinnon was bottled up on the ground, but he was able to provide his fifth receiving touchdown -- and sixth overall -- over his last four games. Isiah Pacheco (90 yards on 15 touches) did the heavy lifting on early downs, but McKinnon's nose for the end zone as a receiver salvaged a down rushing performance. The 30-year-old is on an incredible hot streak and warrants starting until he cools off, but fantasy managers should be wary of the dud potential with a player who is so touchdown-dependent. McKinnon will attempt to keep his scoring streak going against the Broncos next Sunday.
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Chiefs' Jerick McKinnon: RBs to Start
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This could be the week where McKinnon turns into a pumpkin, but you have to start him based on his recent level of production. He has scored at least 13 PPR points in three games in a row, including a whopping 66 PPR points in his past two games against Denver and Houston. In those two outings he has 15 catches for 182 yards and three touchdowns on 17 targets, and he has at least 13 total touches in each of the past two weeks. Mecole Hardman (abdomen) could return this week and take touches away from McKinnon, and I still like Isiah Pacheco as a flex. The Seahawks are No. 2 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs this season, and five running backs have scored at least 14 PPR points against Seattle in the past five weeks alone. Let's hope McKinnon can stay hot for at least one more game.
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Chiefs' Jerick McKinnon: Start Him (Lineup Decisions)
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McKinnon's role as the high-leverage situational running back figures to stick, especially after Pacheco had a fumble last week. There is a little worry about how the Chiefs operate inside the 10-yard line with receiver Mecole Hardman back, but any impact there could happen in Week 17 after Hardman takes a week to get re-acclimated. Pacheco isn't a bad option, especially in non-PPR leagues, but McKinnon shapes up as a quality starter with upside to finish as Fantasy's No. 1 RB, just as he's been each of the past two weeks. I'd start him in PPR over Kenneth Walker, Joe Mixon, Ezekiel Elliott and Alvin Kamara.
