The Kansas City Chiefs signed their fifth-round draft pick, and they're hoping Emmett Johnson will be a major find.
The Kansas City Chiefs are a little behind some other teams in signing their draft picks, but they have made an addition to toheir running back room as they signed fifth-round pick Emmett Johnson to a four-year deal, according to a report from Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.
Johnson is an intriguing selection to be sure. A lot of teams find productive backs on Days 2 and 3, and the Chiefs are hoping Johnson turns out to be a find in that range.
He’s got a legitimate shot. Johnson was a four-year player at Nebraska, and he led the top division of FBS in all-purpose yards per game last year while finishing fourth with 1,451 yards.
The Nebraska product is in a good situation, too. He’ll play behind newly-signed Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III as the Chiefs tilt toward using more of a ground game with quarterback Patrick Mahomes as the quarterback rehabs after knee surgery .
The most likely outcome with Johnson is that he spells Walker from time to time, and he’ll also have opportunities in the passing game as receiving was never a strong suit of Walker’s. He’ll basically be replacing Isiah Pacheco, as the Chiefs allowed Pacheco to move on and sign with the Detroit Lions. Pacheco didn’t have the size to run between the tackles, and he was hurt a lot, so now the Chiefs are changing their offense to reflect a new strategy.
Johnson just got done participating in Chiefs rookie mini-camp, and he definitely impressed coach Andy Reid. That’s probably the reason Kansas City moved so quickly to sign Johnson given that a lot of fifth-round picks fail to make the team.
Instead, Johnson earned some unlikely comps from Reid, who said that the running back reminded him of another back he had back when he was coaching the Philadelphia Eagles, LeSean McCoy.
“He’s got a good feel for things,” Reid said. “A smart kid, a good kid. He’s got that lateral quickness. We had LeSean McCoy here for a bit and he has a little bit of that to him, where he can shift gears and still get himself up the field quickly. I like the way he pass protects, I like the way he catches the football, and it looks like he can do that here.”
Reid’s comments are mostly about motivation, and it’s important to understand that. He needs new players to step in and contribute right away, and that includes draft picks. Based on what Reid has said so far, Johnson has the skill set to produce, but he’ll need to have a good camp in all areas to get snaps.