Who Should I Start? Emari Demercado or Brashard Smith

Monday, June 29, 5:13 AM

After a season in which the Kansas City Chiefs finished near the bottom of the league in rush attempts, rushing yards, and field-flipping runs, the team completely overhauled the running back position, leaving their lone returner from last season, Brashard Smith, fighting for a roster spot. A seventh-round pick in 2025, Smith finished his rookie season third on the team in running back carries and yards, but without a single back on the roster reaching four yards per carry, the Chiefs have since moved on from Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco. Kansas City signed Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III to a three-year, $43 million deal and spent a fifth-round pick on Nebraska's Emmett Johnson. Johnson was one of the most productive collegiate running backs in his class, and his abilities in the passing game could make Smith's role redundant. The Chiefs rounded out the room with veteran Emari Demercado, who has been one of the league's most efficient backs in his limited usage with the Cardinals. Likely sitting somewhere close to fourth on a depth chart topped by a player with true bell cow abilities, Smith is not a player who needs to be held in dynasty leagues, and he has fallen to RotoBaller's RB75.