Chiefs free agent grades: Elijah Mitchell is a lottery ticket (and nothing more) | OneFootball

Coming into the 2025 offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs needed to reinvigorate the roster with more speed, depth, youth, and overall athleticism on offense. So far, Chiefs general manager Brett veach is doing just that with his earliest moves in free agency.

Watching Patrick Mahomes lead a league-average unit is a miserable use of his talents (the Chiefs were ranked No. 16 in the NFL in total yards and No. 15 in points scored), so it's no surprise that K.C. has attacked that side of the ball with their first few signings. Not only did they sign offensive tackle Jaylon Moore to be Mahomes's new blindside protector, but they added Elijah Mitchell to bolster the backfield.

What Elijah Mitchell brings to the Chiefs

On paper, Mitchell will be an exciting signing for Chiefs fans who recall watching him set the San Francisco 49ers rookie rushing record back in 2021. His speed is a welcome addition and he's a capable pass blocker. The Chiefs are hoping he can add some juice and productivity to a unit that looked older and depleted in 2024.

Injuries and old age have surfaced as the Chiefs' major problems at running back in recent seasons. Isiah Pacheco is a violent runner, but he has limitations to his game and a litany of injuries hasn't helped. Kareem Hunt was a nice redemption story for the Chiefs in 2024 as their leading rusher, but both he and Samaje Perine are 30 years old entering free agency.

Mitchell's presence gives the Chiefs a potential tandem partner to go with Pacheco and certainly raises the ceiling at the position. But there's a also a shadow side to this signing in particular.

The shadow side of signing Elijah Mitchell

While Mitchell is a worthy signing, the truth is that the Chiefs cannot count on Mitchell to be anything but a bonus addition to the roster. Yes, it's a chance worth taking, but no one working in Arrowhead should feel any more secure about the state of the backfield than they did before coming to terms with Mitchell's representatives during the legal tampering period.

Even in the season where Mitchell set new rookie marks for the Niners, he missed five games due to injury and that would become his calling card going forward. When a player is more known for his lack of availability than any other facet to his game, that's not a good thing and there's a reason why the Chiefs got Mitchell for a single-year deal worth $3.5 million.

Mitchell has only played 241 total offensive snaps since that rookie season, including an entire missed season in 2024. The truth is that no one can even know what Mitchell will bring to the Chiefs because the back hasn't even able to take to the field in the first place. Major hamstring issues cost him the '24 campaign, but that's just a small sample size of the number of injuries overall.

What should Chiefs fans think of Elijah Mitchell?

None of this should be taken as "Elijah Mitchell was a bad signing for the Chiefs." That's not the case at all. The Chiefs have given themselves an upside play in free agency for little financial investment, and that's always a chance worth taking—especially at a position in need of multiple new contributors.

The thing to keep in mind, however, is that Mitchell's signing doesn't mean a thing in terms of roster planning. If you wanted the Chiefs to grab 1-2 running backs they could count on in the draft and free agency, then they still need to grab 1-2 more running backs in the draft and free agency.

Mitchell is the lottery ticket and nothing more. No one should ever base their finances on potentially winning, but hey, if it works out, then everyone is happy.