Last season, Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott took the NFL by storm by putting up massive numbers in his rookie campaign. Now, in 2017, Kareem Hunt is making a great case early on to become the league's next big thing.
The Kansas City Chiefs remain undefeated after three weeks of regular-season play, and the team has to thank the third-round pick out of Toledo for its early success. On Sunday, Hunt finished with a whopping 172 rushing yards on just 17 carries against the Los Angeles Chargers, which includes a 69-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to ultimately put the Chargers' bid for a comeback to rest.
The 22-year-old Ohio native now finds himself in rarefied air among some of the NFL's greatest rookie running backs. Mike Florio of NBC Sports noted that Hunt's 538 all-purpose yards through three games trail only that of the Detroit Lions' Billy Sims, who had 562 yards as a rookie in 1980.
That's only the beginning. As ESPN's Bill Barwnell pointed out, Hunt's propensity for churning out huge plays has put him in the same conversation with a future Hall of Famer:
https://twitter.com/billbarnwell/status/912096137376665600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbssports.com%2Fnfl%2Fnews%2Fwatch-chiefs-kareem-hunt-does-it-again-rips-off-game-clinching-69-yard-td-run%2F
Furthermore, per Chiefs reporter Matt McCullen, Hunt also became just the ninth NFL running back to rack up over a hundred yards from scrimmage in each of his first three games:
Kareem Hunt is now just the ninth player since 1950 to record 100+ scrimmage yards in each of his first three NFL games.
— Matt McMullen (@KCChiefs_Matt) September 24, 2017
At this rate, Hunt could very well take home the Offensive Rookie of the Year award in a landslide. Considering that the Chiefs have a rich history of grooming running backs into surefire studs such as Jamaal Charles, Larry Johnson, and Priest Holmes, Hunt definitely has terrific support to complement his immense talent in hopes of taking home some hardware by season's end.
