Texas Tech football alums: DeAndre Washington’s huge opportunity in Kansas City

Playing in the Kansas City Cheifs’ offense has to be a dream for a running back and it could also be just what DeAndre Washington needs to jumpstart his NFL career.

Patrick Mahomes and DeAndre Washington are still years away from being old enough to attend their college reunion.  But that’s what they will have going on in the Kansas City Chiefs’ backfield this fall after Washington signed a free-agent contract this offseason to team back up with his college QB.  And unforeseen circumstances may provide him with the best opportunity he’s had yet to shine in the NFL.

Last season, veteran RB Damien Williams emerged as the Cheifs’ lead back in the playoffs.  He capped his best season ever with 104 yards and the game-clinching TD in the Super Bowl.  But he won’t be part of the KC offense this year after deciding to opt-out of the season.

Thus, there will be plenty of work for the other RBs on the Chiefs’ roster and Washington could be the beneficiary.  He certainly didn’t know that he might play such an immediate role for his new team when he signed in April but opportunity appears to be smiling on him now.

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He should pair with a highly-regarded rookie to help Mahomes shoulder the load on offense for the defending champs.  Many believe that rookie RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire is most likely to start for KC this year.  After all, he was tremendous with 1,867 total yards and 17 scores for the National Champions and his elusiveness seems to make him a perfect fit for the wide-open offense of head coach Andy Reid.

However, the NFL is long past the days of the three-down workhorse RB.  That’s especially true of high-octane teams like KC, which base their schemes on the passing game.

As such, the ability of a RB to catch the football is often just as important as is his ability to carry it.  And that’s something Washington has proven capable of thus far in his professional career.

In four years with the Oakland Raiders, the former Red Raider caught 88 passes for 613 yards and a TD.  That came after he caught 124 balls for 1,091 yards and four more TDs as a Red Raider.

Last year, the top three KC RBs brought in 73 passes for 561 yards and four TDs in the regular season.  Thus, whoever steps into Williams’ shoes had better have excellent hands.

While Washington indeed has that, what he hasn’t really had in the NFL is an opportunity to play a significant role.  Thus far in his career, he’s yet to have more than the 144 touches he had last season.  But this year could be a golden opportunity for him to top last year’s career-best 679 yards from scrimmage while also playing for a Super Bowl contender.

Washington has always been on the fringes of the NFL having to fight for his roster spot on a yearly basis and always being in danger of being replaced by younger and cheaper talent.  But this year seems the perfect opportunity for him to be able to solidify his status as a key member of the Chiefs given that the defending champs now have a huge hole to fill in the backfield.  And it also has to help that he will be playing next to the best QB in the world.