The Kansas City Chiefs made an addition to their backfield on Thursday by signing free agent tailback Elijah Mitchell.

Here are five things to know about the Chiefs' newest playmaker.

1. Prior to signing with the Chiefs, Mitchell spent the entirety of his four-year career with the San Francisco 49ers.

Mitchell heads to Kansas City after spending the first four seasons of his career with San Francisco. He appeared in 11 games (with 10 starts) as a rookie in 2021, rushing for 963 yards and five touchdowns, but multiple knee injuries limited Mitchell to just five games the following year.

He was then Christian McCaffrey's primary backup in 2023, rushing for 281 yards on 75 carries in 11 games, before a hamstring injury ended his 2024 campaign in training camp that year.

Overall, Mitchell rushed for 1,523 yards and nine touchdowns on 327 attempts during his time with the 49ers, averaging 4.7 yards-per-carry. Notably, Mitchell has never fumbled the ball as a professional.

2. He tallied 1,100 yards from scrimmage in 11 games back in 2021.

Mitchell was among the top playmakers in the NFL as a rookie in 2021 with 1,100 yards and six touchdowns in just 11 games. He topped 100 scrimmage yards in five of those games and recorded at least 50 scrimmage yards in each of them.

In fact, only the Steelers' Najee Harris and the Broncos' Javonte Williams recorded more scrimmage yards among rookie running backs in 2021 than Mitchell.

Injuries – and the arrival of Christian McCaffrey in 2022 – got in the way of another big season for Mitchell in the years since, but he still played well when healthy, averaging 4.7 yards-per-carry since the beginning of the 2022 season.

3. Mitchell is an explosive athlete who ran a 4.33 40-yard dash during the pre-draft process.

The 5-foot-10, 200-pound Mitchell showed off his speed with a 4.33 40-yard dash at his pro day during the pre-draft process. Additionally, his 10-yard and 20-yard split times each ranked in the "elite" category according to Kent Lee Platte’s “relative athletic score” metric.

Mitchell's 37.5-inch vertical jump and his 128-inch broad jump also ranked as "elite" figures according to Platte, which – paired with his 40-time – indicated an explosive athlete.

He certainly showed off those skills during his rookie campaign, too, as he racked up eight rushes of 15+ yards (and averaged 27.5 yards on those runs). Mitchell also showed off his explosiveness when healthy in 2023, logging seven runs of double-digit yardage on 75 total carries.

4. He originally entered the NFL as a sixth-round pick in 2021.

The 49ers selected Mitchell with the No. 194 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, making him the 10th running back selected that year. Here's a quick note on Mitchell from The Athletic's Dane Brugler in his 2021 pre-draft guide:

"Mitchell runs with terrific effort every time he touches the ball, slashing through gaps and flashing a burst to clear the first wave."

Ironically, Mitchell is now one of two players – joining offensive tackle Jaylon Moore – to sign with the Chiefs this offseason after originally entering the league as a member of San Francisco's 2021 draft class.

5. Mitchell played his college ball at the University of Louisiana – Lafayette.

Mitchell left Louisiana – Lafayette as one of the best players in school history after racking up 3,267 rushing yards and 46 total touchdowns in 42 career games from 2017 through 2020.

He led the team in rushing yards in each of his final two seasons in school, which included a junior campaign in 2019 that saw Mitchell rush for 1,147 yards and 16 touchdowns. He then followed that up with 878 rushing yards and eight scores as a senior in 2020.

Mitchell was also a productive receiver during his time with the Ragin' Cajuns, hauling in 49 passes for 597 yards and five touchdowns over the course of his career.

That performance caught the attention of the 49ers back in 2021, and now five years later, Mitchell is headed to Kansas City to join the Chiefs.