Kansas City Chiefs Staff Loves Darwin Thompson’s Strength

KANSAS CITY, Kansas – Following the 2019 NFL Draft, Kansas City Chiefs area scout Trey Koziol talked about why he was intrigued in Utah State running back Darwin Thompson that ultimately led to the Chiefs selected the Aggie in the sixth round.

Thompson was selected with the 41st pick in the sixth round, 214th overall to the Chiefs.

“He is almost a change of pace from what we have,” Koziol said. “He is obviously a little bit undersized, but in terms of his twitch and his burst as that change of pace guy who can get out and make moves in space. He is a big play threat and was always a big play threat at Utah State,” he added.

Speed In Open Field

The Chiefs loved what Thompson can do with his strength and speed when he gets out in the open field. Thompson had 23 receptions for 351 yards and 2 touchdowns through the air in 2018.

“It gives us a different dimension in terms of the passing game and guys who can operate out in space,” Koziol said.

Koziol came across Thompson because of his connections with the coaching staff at Utah State, as Koziol is an area scout.

“It comes down to the relationships that you have with the coaches at the schools and those guys at Utah State were great in terms of catching you up on who he [Darwin] is as a person and a player just from what you don’t see on the tape,” Koziol said. “Then on the tape, you just study what you see on film and you look at his body of work and what he was able to accomplish in the conference on a very good football team this year was very impressive,” he added.

Size Doesn’t Matter

Size was always the issue with Thompson despite rushing for 1,044 yards and 14 touchdowns this past season. That didn’t stop the Chiefs from picking him up in the draft.

Darwin Thompson recorded 48 missed tackles and 765 yards after contact last year at Utah State. 👀 #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/b1wfmVexBi

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) April 28, 2019

“Even though he is five-foot-eight and 198 pounds, this kid is really put together,” Koziol mentioned. “When you see him in the building, he is a rocked up dude. I thought he had really good strength and contact balance with a low center of gravity. That’s one of the things that the guys at Utah State mentioned was that he was pound-for-pound the strongest kid in that program,” he said.

Thompson was the only running back that the Chiefs drafted, but he will have some competition for playing time when the season begins.

They signed Carlos Hyde, while also return Damien Williams and Darrel Williams as the running backs on the roster.