Carson Steele looks like the Chiefs' top back right now, but it's not too late to stash Kareem Hunt

Carson Steele did everything the Chiefs asked of him last week. Leading the way on the ground in place of Isiah Pacheco, Steele hammered away on the Falcons 17 times for 72 yards, adding a two-yard catch.

Steele averaged 4.2 yards per rush, with a 5.4-yard average on first downs and a 70.6% success rate, which matters not for Fantasy but does for coaches who are looking for running backs to trust.

The powerful rookie did his part to extend runs for maximum yardage (3.06 yards after contact per rush was 24th-best among all running backs), but he was neither agile nor explosive. His longest runs went nine yards. Steele's vision also wasn't great, particularly on a carry from the one-yard line, where he probably would have scored if he had cut left where his blocking went.

Here's Chiefs coach Andy Reid on Steele: 

Steele admitted this week he was "a little beat up" after the game, perhaps an admission that the team realized and thus led to Kareem Hunt's promotion to the Chiefs active roster.

"I thought (Hunt) had a good week of practice last week," said Reid. "He took the majority of the scout team reps, and it looks like he's in pretty good shape. Now, the next step is just getting him in the game. He'll rotate in, and we'll see how he does."

There's no arguing that Hunt is fresh, considering he's only been practicing for the last two weeks and wasn't even on a roster this offseason. At minimum, Hunt could work in tandem with Steele, or he could pitch in on passing downs with Perine. But if the 29-year-old has springs in his legs with the same power we saw from him in the past, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him eventually take some snaps away from Steele.

This week's game script against the Chargers figures to be a little different than normal. The Bolts are expected to enter this game without their starting offensive tackles, without their second-best pass rusher, without their star safety, and perhaps without starting quarterback Justin Herbert, who is nursing a high-ankle sprain. If the Chiefs can force punts and turnovers against a depleted offense, then they should be able to find scoring opportunities. And if the Chargers offense can't score, then there will be time for the Chiefs to kill in the second half.

It certainly doesn't hurt that the Chargers allowed 4.3 yards per rush to the Steelers last week and a whopping 4.9 to the Panthers the week before. In both games, both groups of running backs averaged over three yards after contact per rush, a data point that matches up precisely with Steele's top trait as a runner. And last week, the Chargers had eight missed tackles on runs.

It points to a big week ahead for the Kansas City running game.

For Fantasy, I'd use Steele while you can, but his value is watered down in full-PPR leagues because he's not used much in passing situations. Hunt's arrival shouldn't mean he takes Steele's role instantly, but even if he takes five carries, it could matter. Steele is still a great candidate to score, and that's what he'll have to do to have a big Fantasy week. He's more of a non-PPR flex than anything else. 

Hunt is absolutely worth rostering -- he's still available in just under half of CBS Sports leagues and over 65% of Yahoo and ESPN leagues. Any misstep by Steele and Hunt will assume a larger role until Pacheco comes back. That's obviously very valuable.

As for Perine, he's worth stashing and keeping as RB depth in PPR. With Hunt in town and Steele emerging, Perine is unlikely to find the chance to be a three-down back for Kansas City.