Brashard Smith Fantasy Stats

A seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Kansas City Chiefs running back Brashard Smith flashed upside as a receiver out of the backfield during his rookie season. However, the 23-year-old's 2026 debut was discouraging for fantasy managers, as Smith played exclusively on special teams in Kansas City's Week 1 win over the Denver Broncos. Chiefs RB1 Kenneth Walker turned in a dominant performance against Denver, and rookie running back Emmett Johnson appears to have established himself as the clear RB2 in Kansas City. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes attempted just 27 passes in Week 1, so Smith may play a role in games where Kansas City is forced into more pass-heavy game scripts. Still, Smith seems unlikely to provide fantasy-relevant production unless there's an injury to Walker or Johnson.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Brashard Smith could be falling down the depth chart due to the emergence of rookie Emmett Johnson. Throughout training camp and the preseason, Johnson earned plenty of praise for his contributions, especially in pass protection. With fifth-round draft capital, it initially seemed like Johnson was headed for the No. 3 running back role, but his impressive summer has bumped him up to second on the depth chart. As a result, Smith has fallen into that No. 3 spot. Smith had a relatively quiet rookie season last year, tallying 151 rushing yards, 172 receiving yards, and one touchdown. Given that the Chiefs likely wouldn't trust Johnson as an every-down back quite yet, we could see Smith getting onto the fantasy radar if Kenneth Walker III were to miss time. However, his status as the third-string back makes it tough to justify using a roster spot on him in redraft leagues. The second-year SMU product should only be rostered in deeper dynasty formats.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Brashard Smith led all players with 16 carries for 72 yards in the 9-9 tie with the Seattle Seahawks. No other back on the Chiefs received double-digit carries or eclipsed 50 yards on the ground in the contest. Smith also caught his only target of the night for a loss of five yards. Although Smith ended the game with the most touches, all five of the first running back opportunities went to rookie Emmett Johnson. Smith is currently ranked fourth on the Kansas City running back depth chart, so this game may be the only time we see him get double-digit opportunities this season. Fantasy managers may be better off looking elsewhere for running back depth in 2026.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Brashard Smith drew the start in Saturday's preseason opener against the Rams, but in his battle to earn the primary backup role behind Kenneth Walker, the points in his favor end right about there. Smith carried the ball eight times for 21 yards and brought in both of his targets for an additional 12 yards, but he was outshined by rookie Emmett Johnson, who looked explosive in gaining 59 yards on his 12 carries. Johnson also added three catches for 10 yards and ran in a four-yard touchdown that was nullified by a holding penalty. As a rookie in 2025, Smith was unable to carve out a meaningful role in a backfield led by Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco, finishing the year with 323 yards and one touchdown on 79 total opportunities. With a significantly higher talent level in the room for 2026, he could struggle to find regular work and is not likely to make any fantasy impact without a notable injury ahead of him.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Brashard Smith has a real path to the 53-man roster, but that does not mean he belongs on fantasy rosters. The former seventh-round pick appeared in all 17 games as a rookie, finishing with 44 carries for 151 yards and 25 catches for 172 yards and one touchdown. He flashed in Week 18 with 56 yards on 12 carries, but Kansas City spent the offseason rebuilding the room around him. Kenneth Walker III sits atop the backfield, Emari Demercado adds proven big-play ability, and fifth-round rookie Emmett Johnson brings the same receiving versatility that should have been Smith's best route to touches. The Chiefs' unofficial depth chart lists Smith third at running back and first at both return spots. That special-teams role matters for his job security, not his weekly fantasy ceiling. RotoBaller has him at RB79 in PPR and half-PPR formats. Smith is still only 23, so managers in very deep dynasty leagues can wait through the preseason. In ordinary redraft leagues, and in shallower dynasty formats, there is no reason to use a roster spot unless he climbs the backfield order.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Brashard Smith showed enough as a rookie to remain interesting, but the path to a larger role has become crowded. The former college receiver played all 17 games, making one start, and finished with 44 carries for 151 yards. He was more useful through the air, catching 25 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown. Kansas City finally gave him extended backfield work in Week 18, when he handled 12 carries for 56 yards and added two receptions. That was encouraging, but it was also the first time all year the Chiefs treated him like a featured runner. Kenneth Walker III now sits at the front of a rebuilt room, with Emari Demercado and fifth-round rookie Emmett Johnson joining Smith behind him. Johnson caught 46 passes during his final season at Nebraska, so Smith does not have the passing-down job to himself. His experience at receiver and 5-foot-10, 196-pound build still make him a possible space player in Andy Reid's offense. Managers already rostering Smith can wait through training camp. He is not a priority target for contenders or rebuilders, and there is not enough of a 2026 role to treat him as a redraft sleeper.

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.

Inconsistency and a lack of a true bell cow atop the Chiefs' running back depth chart allowed ample opportunity for Brashard Smith to carve out a meaningful role as a 2025 rookie, but the seventh-round pick out of SMU was never able to capitalize. Appearing in all 17 games, Smith ran for only 151 yards on a 3.4-yard-per-carry clip, adding another 172 yards through the air and scoring his only touchdown of the season in a Week 17 loss to the Broncos. Kansas City added the top free agent running back on the market in Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III before spending a fifth-round pick on arguably the best receiving back in the 2026 rookie class, Emmett Johnson. The Chiefs rounded out their depth chart with the low-cost addition of veteran Emari Demercado, who had been hyper-efficient in his limited work with the Cardinals, averaging almost 7.9 yards per attempt over the past two seasons. Smith has accordingly been pushed to the bubble of most dynasty rosters, and with no clear path to fantasy relevance, he has fallen to RB74 in RotoBaller's dynasty rankings, making him a drop candidate in all but the deepest leagues.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Brashard Smith is currently listed as No. 2 on the RB depth chart for the Chiefs behind new starter Kenneth Walker III, but the 23-year-old has fallen all the way to No. 74 in RotoBaller's dynasty RB rankings despite Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco both departing in free agency in the offseason. In addition to Walker, the Chiefs signed Emarci Demercado in free agency and selected Emmett Johnson in the fifth round of this year's draft. Smith, who was a receiver in college at SMU, is elusive and can obviously catch the ball out of the backfied, but at just 5-foot-10 and 196 pounds, he lacks the size to challenge for a true workhorse RB1 role in the NFL, and he could be destined to see most of his snaps on special teams in KC if Johnson emerges as the team's best change-of-pace back behind Walker. In his rookie campaign in 2025 after the Chiefs took him in the seventh round, Smith saw 44 carries for 151 yards (3.4 yards per carry) and no touchdowns, although he added 25 catches for 172 yards and one touchdown through the air in 17 games (one start). Smith has PPR upside, but his dynasty stock has taken a hit due to the additions of Walker, Demercado, and Johnson.

A seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Kansas City Chiefs running back Brashard Smith earned some preseason buzz as a potential sleeper candidate to take over his team's backfield. However, despite the Chiefs getting middling production from the veteran tandem of Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco for much of the year, Smith was never able to carve out a consistent role. He finished the season with 323 scrimmage yards and a touchdown on 69 touches, with 14 of those touches coming in a meaningless Week 18 game. Kansas City overhauled its backfield over the offseason, signing running backs Kenneth Walker III and Emari Demercado in free agency, and using a fifth-round pick on Nebraska back Emmett Johnson in the 2026 Draft. Walker III should dominate touches when healthy, leaving Smith in a three-way fight for the primary backup role. While Smith's receiving ability helps his chances, his pathway to regular playing time with the Chiefs looks significantly more challenging heading into 2026 than it did in 2025.