Jerick McKinnon Fantasy

Kansas City Chiefs running back Jerick McKinnon had a surprising performance last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers with 12 carries for 61 yards and six receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown. However, this apparent breakout should be analyzed skeptically. The 29-year-old accompanied a variation of lead backs in his days with the Minnesota Vikings but managed to sign a substantial deal with the San Francisco 49ers, where he would fade to irrelevance. But the Chiefs took a flier on this speedster, and after a full season with the team, he finally played a role in this offense for one game. Throughout the season, the Chiefs have been searching for an answer at running back and cycling from one guy to another. Perhaps McKinnon is what they've been looking for all along, but based on his career's history and the abruptness of his surge, it's most likely that they'll continue rotating to the next guy and McKinnon will fade once again.

Jan. 20th • 5:12 PM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Jerick McKinnon stepped up with Clyde Edwards-Helaire (shoulder) out in the wild-card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night. McKinnon got his chance in KC's backfield when Darrel Williams fumbled a ball in the first half that was returned for a touchdown by Pittsburgh's defense. And McKinnon took advantage of his opportunity, leading the team with 12 carries for 61 yards while also catching all six of his targets for 81 more yards and a touchdown. His 12 rushing attempts were more than every other Chiefs player combined, and he averaged 5.2 yards per carry and 13.5 yards per catch. Now that he's fully healthy, he could become a weapon for the Chiefs for the rest of the playoffs, but Edwards-Helaire's impending return won't be good news for his chances of replicating this performance for DFS gamers in the Divisional Round against the Buffalo Bills.

Jan. 17th • 6:52 PM

The Kansas City Chiefs designated running back Jerick McKinnon (hamstring) to return from Injured Reserve on Wednesday. The Chiefs now have 21 days to officially activate McKinnon from IR. The 29-year-old has been out since injuring his hamstring in Week 11, but he could be an option for the Chiefs backfield in the postseason. Clyde Edwards-Helaire's (shoulder) status for Week 17 against the Cincinnati Bengals is up in the air, but if he cannot play, Darrel Williams and Derrick Gore should split the backfield duties for the Chiefs. In 11 games in 2021, McKinnon has just seven carries for 38 yards and has hauled in 10 of his 17 targets for 81 yards in the passing game.

Dec. 29th • 5:33 PM