27 Kareem Hunt RB

Hunt could take on a larger role in the passing game in 2018, Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star reports. "We probably need to expand on [Hunt's] role in the pass game," Reid said. "A healthy [Spencer] Ware would be a nice problem to have there. They're best friends, and that would be a nice problem to have."

Hunt's pass-catching potential was a major draw after he caught 41 balls for 403 yards his senior season at Toledo, and he made good on that promise by catching 53 of 63 targets for 455 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie, despite losing much of the passing-down work to Charcandrick West. With Spencer Ware expected to return from an ACL injury that wiped out his entire 2017 season, the Chiefs could opt to rest Hunt on early downs instead of passing downs, which could in turn make West expendable. Regardless of how the work ultimately is divided, the Chiefs presumably plan for Hunt to rank among the league leaders in touches. As a rookie he finished fifth in the league for touches (325) and third for scrimmage yards (1,782), in addition to winning a rushing title (1,327) while ranking sixth in carries (272). Hunt lines up as a top-15 commodity in the vast majority of formats heading into 2018.

Hunt rushed 11 times for 42 yards and a touchdown while catching all three of his targets for five yards in Saturday's 22-21, wild-card round loss to the Titans.

Hunt opened the scoring with a one-yard plunge, but failed to get much going after that as his team blew a 21-3 halftime lead. The rookie started the season hot and nabbed the league rushing title, but he flamed out when needed most. Still, Hunt's going to cost a hefty price in redraft leagues next year and makes for a wonderful keeper given his cheap going rate in most drafts prior to this campaign.

Hunt nabbed the rushing title for the 2017 season with a 35-yard touchdown run during the first minute of Sunday's 27-24 win in Denver.

Hunt wasn't expected to play at all in the Chiefs' regular-season finale, like top skill-position talents Alex Smith, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. However, reserve running back Charcandrick West was unable to get over an illness and was deemed inactive Week 17, forcing Hunt to remain active alongside Akeem Hunt (shoulder) and fullback Anthony Sherman. With his first and only carry of the game, Kareem Hunt dashed to the house to set a solid footing for an eventual win, and secured the rushing title from inactive RBs Todd Gurley and Le'Veon Bell in the process. Expect Hunt, the rookie, to take over lead-back duties in Kansas City's playoff opener Saturday versus the Titans.

With fellow running back Charcandrick West (illness) out in Week 17, Hunt is officially active against the Broncos.

As per Adam Teicher of ESPN.com, head coach Andy Reid's original intention had been to sit Hunt alongside fellow front-line players Alex Smith, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. That notion essentially evaporated once West's illness left the Chiefs with Akeem Hunt (shoulder) and fullback Anthony Sherman as the only viable backfield candidates. Kareem Hunt's active status doesn't equate to a guarantee he'll log any carries, but he'll be in uniform and available should injury strike Akeem Hunt at some point during the contest.

Charcandrick West (illness) won't play Sunday against the Broncos, leaving Kareem Hunt and Akeem Hunt (shoulder) as the Chiefs' options at running back in Week 17.

As a result, it looks like both Kareem and Akeem Hunt will probably be in uniform for Sunday's 4:25 ET kickoff, but with the Chiefs locked into the AFC's No. 4 playoff seed, key players like Kareem Hunt may see limited (or no) action in Week 17. For what it's worth, Kareem Hunt trails Todd Gurley (who is not expected to play Sunday) by just 13 yards for the league-lead in rushing. In any case, given the context of what Kansas City is playing for, we'd expect Akeem Hunt to pace the team's backfield this week in terms of touches.