Without Isiah Pacheco for the next 6-8 weeks – and maybe longer – with a fractured fibula, I’m probably favoring these Chiefs RBs more than any other waiver wire pickup this week, especially if you need an RB. But it’s a tricky situation - this backfield is going from a workhorse situation to a timeshare, and it could be an annoying one. Carson Steele can score two goal-line TDs this week, and then next week Samaje Perine catches 5 balls for 57 yards and a receiving TD and ends up being the better play.
Role-wise, I think Steele will get most of the carries even though he did fumble last week. It’s worth noting Andy Reid doesn’t punish players for that right away - he gives them a chance to learn from it, so I wouldn’t ding him for that when you’re trying to choose between the two. He’s going to get the first crack at the early down work, but I do think Perine will mix in on the ground, and he will be their primary passing down back and run the most routes in the coming weeks once he gets acclimated to the playbook.
We saw the Jerick McKinnon role flourish here, but Samaje Perine is a big back – so it doesn’t seem apples to apples, but Perine was one of the most efficient pass-catching RBs last season. And I can see why Andy Reid wanted him on this team. If I’m looking for a short-term add and just need an RB play this week, I’m probably going with Carson Steele - he’ll also likely have the first crack, and if he performs, it’ll be hard to take the job away from him. And it is worth noting that in terms of yards after contact/att, missed tackles forced/att in college - he was up there among the high-volume backs. So there is some precedence of him being good.
But long term, once Perine gets involved, I can see him being the guy you want, assuming the Chiefs end up being a more pass-first team. I think one of the reasons why they were willing to run the ball so much is because they had someone like Isiah Pacheco - but now that they don’t, I can see them putting the ball more in Patrick Mahomes’ hands, which means Perine can see more of the money touches - and as we know, one target is 2.5x more valuable than a carry in PPR.
If you can’t land Samaje Perine, I’d still even be ok with dropping 25 FAAB on Carson Steele as a consolation price off the wire.