Darwin Thompson "steal of the draft"

[Mloe68 1,521]

I've been trying to maintain some perspective on the growing hype he's getting after tearing it up in training camp and in the preseason especially after seeing Daron Lee just bury him in a training camp drill. But actually hearing a comparison to Westbrook is pretty compelling. I don't expect any miracle breakout season like Kareem Hunt had. But sitting him altogether in preseason game 4 is a really good sign he's going to play a role in this thing from day one. 

 

“He (Darwin Thompson) looks every bit like the steal (in the draft),” Chadiha said. “He basically has everything Reid loves in running backs. He’s a tough, elusive runner, especially after contact. He’s a good pass receiver. He’s better in pass protection than coaches thought he’d be by this point, and he’s a big-play threat.”

Chadhia compared Thompson to former Eagles running back Brian Westbrook. Westbrook took a few years to develop after originally being drafted by the 49ers. But ultimately put together a 5 season stretch averaging almost 1,500 all purpose yards and 10 TDs per season. 

[reesebobby 5,661]

I sure hope so.  Losing Kareem was really a big deal to this team. 

[oldtimer 8,686]

it'd be nice to have someone come in and let us say .."Kareem who?"

[West 6,713]

I never even thought of Hunt in the playoff win or the loss to the Pats.

That said, my Dee Ford Bobble Head is no longer viable.

w

[DieHard 2,061]

He is exciting. I don’t think he is a training camp super hero disappears in the regular season. 

[Mloe68 1,521]

1 hour ago, reesebobby said:

I sure hope so.  Losing Kareem was really a big deal to this team. 

I do agree with you because he brought a physicality to get tough first downs and make teams pay who didn't respect our running game. Hard to cover one on one out of the backfield too although no better than Williams there. I think we lost Chargers game because he wasn't there. That said its pretty compelling he had 4 100 yard rushing games in his first five in the NFL. But only 2 in the next 21 games. That's pretty unreal. He was missed for a role he played we couldn't replace last year really. Maybe Thompson brings that element missing from Williams game. 

[Mloe68 1,521]

25 minutes ago, DieHard said:

He is exciting. I don’t think he is a training camp super hero disappears in the regular season. 

Not playing a 6th round rookie at all in the fourth preseason game is incredibly rare I'd think. He's already clearly won the coaches over. 

[liquidfriend 1,151]

24 minutes ago, reesebobby said:

I sure hope so.  Losing Kareem was really a big deal to this team. 

Not really.  It was a much bigger deal to Kareem Hunt.

[reesebobby 5,661]

18 minutes ago, liquidfriend said:

Not really.  It was a much bigger deal to Kareem Hunt.

With Kareem we were 9-2, averaging 37 points and 434 YPG.  Without, we were 4-3 with 31.86 points and 389 YPG.  Two of those wins were against the 4-12 Raiders.  We were outrushed 176 to 41 in the loss to the Patriots.  Common games before and after Hunt were the Chargers and Patriots.  We scored almost 20 more points in the first two contests, both on the road, than we did the two without him, both at home.   He was the leagues leading rusher the prior year and a favorite target of Mahomes.  I'm pissed at him too, but he was a big big part of our offense. 

And now he is a Brown making more than twice what he did last year. 

[liquidfriend 1,151]

4 minutes ago, reesebobby said:

With Kareem we were 9-2, averaging 37 points and 434 YPG.  Without, we were 4-3 with 31.86 points and 389 YPG.  Two of those wins were against the 4-12 Raiders.  We were outrushed 176 to 41 in the loss to the Patriots.  Common games before and after Hunt were the Chargers and Patriots.  We scored almost 20 more points in the first two contests, both on the road, than we did the two without him, both at home.   He was the leagues leading rusher the prior year and a favorite target of Mahomes.  I'm pissed at him too, but he was a big big part of our offense. 

And now he is a Brown making more than twice what he did last year. 

Watkins was out of the line up for most of those games when Hunt was gone, and Hill was banged up for a portion of those weeks too.  That's a misleading stat.

Williams did perfectly fine in the line up in his spot. 

[reesebobby 5,661]

4 minutes ago, liquidfriend said:

Watkins was out of the line up for most of those games when Hunt was gone.  That's a misleading stat.

Williams did perfectly fine in the line up in his spot. 

Damien Williams is a 27 year old running back that averages 146 yards per season over 5 years.  He couldn't crack the starting lineup in Miami and I don't think the Chiefs think he's a long term solution either.  But you're right, he filled in for Hunt and did a good job for us. 

[liquidfriend 1,151]

8 minutes ago, reesebobby said:

Damien Williams is a 27 year old running back that averages 146 yards per season over 5 years.  He couldn't crack the starting lineup in Miami and I don't think the Chiefs think he's a long term solution either.  But you're right, he filled in for Hunt and did a good job for us. 

You're correct as to the fact that he's not a long term solution at RB.  They're just really good about replacing RB's when it becomes necessary.

As much as I liked Kareem Hunt coming out of the draft, he's replaceable.  I don't think he's going to look as good outside of Andy Reid's offense. 

[reesebobby 5,661]

19 minutes ago, liquidfriend said:

You're correct as to the fact that he's not a long term solution at RB.  They're just really good about replacing RB's when it becomes necessary.

As much as I liked Kareem Hunt coming out of the draft, he's replaceable.  I don't think he's going to look as good outside of Andy Reid's offense. 

I agree.  It's a lot easier for a running back to look good when everyone is accounting for Hill, and Kelce and Mahomes. 

[Mloe68 1,521]

39 minutes ago, reesebobby said:

Damien Williams is a 27 year old running back that averages 146 yards per season over 5 years.  He couldn't crack the starting lineup in Miami and I don't think the Chiefs think he's a long term solution either.  But you're right, he filled in for Hunt and did a good job for us. 

Important to note how much Andy's system elevates the play of RBs. Williams average 3.3 YPC in his career before getting to KC. 5.1 YPC in KC. 

[Mloe68 1,521]

29 minutes ago, liquidfriend said:

You're correct as to the fact that he's not a long term solution at RB.  They're just really good about replacing RB's when it becomes necessary.

As much as I liked Kareem Hunt coming out of the draft, he's replaceable.  I don't think he's going to look as good outside of Andy Reid's offense. 

I think the fact we had private visits with nearly every big time RB prospect in the draft would suggest Veach agrees. Williams is good at what Andy asks him to do. He's not a complete back. Interestingly and without checking it out, I read a blurb yesterday that Williams had more first down runs per game than any player in the NFL other than Cam Newton. 

[jetlord 10,209]

1 hour ago, reesebobby said:

Damien Williams is a 27 year old running back that averages 146 yards per season over 5 years.  He couldn't crack the starting lineup in Miami and I don't think the Chiefs think he's a long term solution either.  But you're right, he filled in for Hunt and did a good job for us. 

Playing RB for KC is a little different.  Reid's offense doesn't require a pounder or a back who carries 20 times a game.  He just needs to pass block, run wheel routes, and carry just enough to keep defenses honest. 

[azchief21 5,278]

3 hours ago, Mloe68 said:

Not playing a 6th round rookie at all in the fourth preseason game is incredibly rare I'd think. He's already clearly won the coaches over. 

Great point

[Fmbl2187 2,279]

7 hours ago, liquidfriend said:

You're correct as to the fact that he's not a long term solution at RB.  They're just really good about replacing RB's when it becomes necessary.

As much as I liked Kareem Hunt coming out of the draft, he's replaceable.  I don't think he's going to look as good outside of Andy Reid's offense. 

It pretty rare for anyone to be a long term solution at RB.  RB's get the hell beat out of them and just wear out physically.  Their tendons and ligaments get a little less flexible and start to pop.  They lose fast twitch fibers in their muscles and start to visibly slow down.  They don't have to be braniacs.  They just have to have good vision, balance and instincts, and attitude and play behind a really good O-line.

[jetlord 10,209]

46 minutes ago, Fmbl2187 said:

It pretty rare for anyone to be a long term solution at RB.   

Don't tell Franco Harris, or Bettis, or even Frank Gore.  Some RBs last for a long time.  In general, you're probably right.  Fortunately, in Reids system, RBs are plug and play.

[Thegoatee 1,780]

Hope he is the steal of my fantasy football draft too....

[sith13 1,746]

Williams definitely did well after Hunt left, which is why he got the extension. However I think they are considering Thompson as the near future possibly after this season. He definitely needs some time to rotate and learn the position at the NFL level but considering the camp and preseason games I think he's much further in his progression than initially assumed. 

[qnet 1,150]

On 8/30/2019 at 4:18 PM, liquidfriend said:

You're correct as to the fact that he's not a long term solution at RB.  They're just really good about replacing RB's when it becomes necessary.

As much as I liked Kareem Hunt coming out of the draft, he's replaceable.  I don't think he's going to look as good outside of Andy Reid's offense. 

That is something I've wondered about. 

[kkuenn 3,597]

34 minutes ago, qnet said:

That is something I've wondered about. 

Well he is out intil week 10 and them coming off his surgery too. He did have 8 game suspension but the hernia took that and then some. I doubt he looks great in 6 games getting back in to game shape.

[SEMO 6,811]

Hernias are a real bitch.  Almost 2 years since I had surgery and I still have issues with it.

[Mloe68 1,521]

On 8/30/2019 at 3:06 PM, reesebobby said:

Damien Williams is a 27 year old running back that averages 146 yards per season over 5 years.  He couldn't crack the starting lineup in Miami and I don't think the Chiefs think he's a long term solution either.  But you're right, he filled in for Hunt and did a good job for us. 

Valid for sure. But consider the Ravens had Priest Holmes on the roster and still felt the need to draft a RB with the sixth pick overall. Seems almost crazy in retrospect. Sometimes teams don’t realize what they had or give a guy the real opportunity.