Brashard Smith moves up the Kansas City depth chart: Smith received two targets with the Chiefs on their first drive.
Smith didn’t appear to be a major part of the Chiefs’ plans through the first two preseason games. He played in the third quarter as the team’s fifth running back in the opener, and he didn’t see the field until the second quarter in the second game, still working as the fifth back on the depth chart.
In this game, Isiah Pacheco started as usual on a longer opening drive. Smith played two second-down snaps and was targeted deep on both, recording a 13.0-yard average depth of target. He dropped the first pass but hauled in the second. Kareem Hunt, returning from a two-week absence due to a quad contusion, also played a snap later in the drive.
Kareem Hunt played every snap on the second drive, reinforcing his place as the No. 2 back despite Smith’s earlier involvement. The Chiefs returned to Pacheco on the third drive, continuing the alternating pattern they used last season. Smith took the fourth drive with the backups, indicating he may now be third on the depth chart, leapfrogging Carson Steele and Elijah Mitchell. That shift makes Mitchell a long shot to make the 53-man roster.