Kansas City Chiefs second-year running back Brashard Smith made the start in the preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams Saturday with starting running back Kenneth Walker III sitting out. In the second play of the game, he caught a screen pass from quarterback Justin Fields, and made multiple defenders, miss as he scampered for eight yards and a first down.
Smith was utilized in the passing game as he caught 25 balls for 174 yards and a touchdown. He played sparingly early in the season with Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt seeing most of the work, but Smith got his chance after injuries decimated the depth chart.
The screen game is going to be crucial this season for the Chiefs, who have a number of questions at wide receiver. They drafted running back Emmett Johnson in the fifth round, and he was an accomplished receiver in college. He and Emari Demercado will battle Smith for the RB2 role behind Walker.
Running predominately in the shotgun, Smith had a three-yard gain and a loss of one on two rushing attempts as the drive stalled after an offensive pass interference penalty.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was on the sidelines as the newly acquired Fields started under center. Mahomes is working his way back from a torn ACL and LCL in his knee suffered late last season and has his sights set on starting in Week 1.
Smith returned a kickoff return for 14 yards as that's also a lane he could see in the regular season. The second drive didn't accomplish a lot as Smith rushed twice for minus-1 yards.
Smith saw more production against backups in the second half, spelling Johnson, as the run game was affective early in the third quarter. Smith rushed eight times for 21 yards and caught two balls for 12 yards in the game.
