The Kansas City Chiefs traded up with the Minnesota Vikings on day two of this year's NFL Draft to select Toledo's Kareem Hunt in the third round with the 86th overall pick.
Hunt leaves Toledo as the school's all-time leading rusher, totaling 4,945 yards rushing in his four years in the program.
Already in offseason workouts, his shiftiness and elusiveness have proven to be real, and that's only complemented what he's shown to running backs coach Eric Bieniemy in the classroom.
"Kareem is a smart kid—his football IQ is very high," Bieniemy explained. "He's done a good job of retaining a lot of information, and trust me, we've been throwing the book at him because we want to challenge him and see exactly what will stick and what won't stick. He's done a heck of a job retaining information."
NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah had some kind words for Hunt during this year's draft process.
"The vision and the balance that has, I think he's one of the most instinctive players in this entire draft class," he said. "I think this guy is going to be an outstanding pro."
If that prediction comes true, the Chiefs will be lucky to have him for years to come.
Quotable:
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Hunt on what skills he feels will fit well in Kansas City:"I feel like I can do a lot of things. I can catch the ball out of the backfield, I can run the ball, and I can stay in there and help with the pass protection."
*Hunt on improving his receiving skills his final year at Toledo: *"It was one of the things I worked hard during the offseason to get to. I talked to my coaches at Toledo and told them I could get more involved in the receiving game. I felt I could get open and make people miss in open space."
2017 Outlook:
Hunt begins his first NFL training camp inside a running back room with a lot of experience—between Anthony Sherman, CJ Spiller, Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West—23 years to be exact.
It's unclear at this point exactly how much action Hunt will see given it's such a crowded room, but even if it's not a lot, he'll have some quality mentors to show him the league ropes in year one.
