Brashard Smith film review; The Chiefs are looking to get more explosive
Examining the film of the 7th round WR-turned RB.
With the Chiefs’ 2025 draft now in the books, we have a ton of new film to review. My favorite part of the draft is examining new players to try and figure out where they win, where they need work, and how they can fit in with the Chiefs in their first season and beyond. Here are the film reviews we’ve already done for this year’s draft class:
Round 1: LT Josh Simmons (both pre-draft review and post-draft looking at the potential plan for him)
Round 4: WR Jalen Royals (I reviewed him right away by popular demand)
Round 3: Edge rusher Ashton Gillotte (whose film I loved)
Today, we’re looking at 7th-round running back Brashard Smith (yes, I’m going out of order again, and yes, it’s by popular demand).
Smith is an interesting player, a 3-year WR at Miami who transferred to SMU and converted to running back last season. Considering it was his first year at the position (he had 18 carries in 3 years, then 235 in 2023), one could only call it an unqualified success from a statistical standpoint. Smith rushed for 1,332 yards at a rate of 5.7 yards per carry, while adding another 327 yards on 39 catches. He also scored a total of 18 touchdowns.
Those statistics are impressive, but of course don’t tell the whole story of Smith as a player (or even part of it). What is interesting, at least, is to see how successful Smith was in his first year as a full-time running back. And when you look at his athletic profile you can understand how that happened.
Smith has breakaway speed for a running back that shows up in his testing, and it’s why a video of his 15+ yard runs last season spans over two and a half minutes.
So that’s a bit about Smith’s background. We also know based on the Chiefs’ current RB room (Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt, Elijah Mitchell, and probably-a-fullback Carson Steele as the primary four) there are snaps to be grabbed by a newcomer if he’s able to seize the opportunity. Pacheco never quite returned to form last year after being injured early, and his slight loss of explosion emphasized some of the vision issues he’s made strides in but never quite overcome. Hunt has terrific vision and contact balance but is one of the least explosive RBs in the league. Mitchell hasn’t been able to stay healthy in years. Steele is a slower player who has had fumble issues.
And so again, there’s a role to be seized here if Smith can show something to Andy Reid. So let’s talk about Smith’s film in his first season as a running back; Where he wins, where he needs to improve or has unanswered questions, and an overall takeaway regarding his film and potential role in Kansas City.
Where Smith Wins
Let’s keep the main thing the main thing. Smith’s combination of high-end acceleration, high-end top speed, and solid agility makes him a unique threat at the running back position even as he learns the ropes. His ability to accelerate in a HURRY and reach an elite (for a RB) top speed right away makes him a threat for an explosive play at any moment if he gets beyond the line of scrimmage.
Smith has the sort of functional speed that shows up every time he touches the ball, and his athleticism isn’t jittery but more smooth. He gets to that top gear very quickly, and because of that the moment he gets free here you see him start chewing up yards in a hurry. That’s consistent in his tape, as is his fluidity in the open field to try and evade tacklers (he utilizes that spin move well and frequently).
A lot of people want to talk about Smith’s gaudy 5.7 yards per carry in terms of explosive plays, and that’s certainly understandable AND wildly important to a Chiefs team that was efficient but lacked almost any explosion last year. However, the area where Smith’s speed stands out the most on a play-by-play basis is the way it allows him to maximize yardage.