Chiefs’ Kareem Hunt comes up empty at NFL Honors
Running back Kareem Hunt became the first Chiefs rookie to lead the league in rushing, but his special 2017 season still wasn’t enough to snag the NFL’s AP offensive rookie of the year award.
On Saturday evening, New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara — a fellow third-round pick — won the award over Hunt at the NFL Honors show at Cyrus Northrop Memorial Auditorium.
Kamara rushed 120 times for 728 yards — a league-leading 6.1 yards per carry — and eight touchdowns this season, and also caught 81 passes for 826 yards and five touchdowns.
Hunt rushed for a league-high 1,327 yards and eight touchdowns in 272 carries this season, becoming only the second Chiefs rookie to top 1,000 yards. Hunt also caught 53 passes for 455 yards and three touchdowns. He was the NFL’s offensive rookie of the month twice (September and December).
Hunt, 22, was chosen the Pro Football Writers Association’s rookie of the year a month ago.
Former Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith was up for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, but he lost out to the Texans’ J.J. Watt.
Terez A. Paylor: 816-234-4489, @TerezPaylor. Download Red Zone Extra, The Star's Chiefs app.
This story was originally published February 3, 2018 at 7:41 PM with the headline "Chiefs’ Kareem Hunt comes up empty at NFL Honors."