Kansas City Chiefs’ decision to sign RB Kenneth Walker III in free agency impacts 2026 NFL Draft plans in more ways than one
The Kansas City Chiefs’ decision to sign RB Kenneth Walker III has a ripple effect on the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Kansas City Chiefs have checked a big need off their offseason list during the early goings of 2026 NFL free agency.
The Chiefs will sign Seattle Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III when the new league year begins on March 11. It’s a move that should help the Chiefs address their explosive-play problems at the running back position, which really hurt their offense in 2025. While Brett Veach still needs to supplement the position group with depth for the 2026 NFL season, it’s abundantly clear that they’ve found their lead running back for the foreseeable future in the Super Bowl LX MVP.
Suddenly, with that single decision, one of the most talked-about options in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft doesn’t seem so likely for Kansas City. Let’s talk about it.
Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love is likely off the table for the Chiefs at No. 9 overall
The Chiefs just handed out a three-year contract worth $43.05 million with a max value of $45 million, including $28.7 million in guaranteed money to Kenneth Walker III. Even if Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love were to somehow fall to pick No. 9 overall, drafting him at that spot would mean Kansas City investing a ton of money in the running back position.
They’d essentially be drafting Love as a backup for at least two seasons, which isn’t good business given that type of financial commitment. The No. 9 overall pick is slated to earn a contract worth $30.8 million in total value with $5.6M in Year 1, $7M in Year 2, $8.4M in Year 3, and $9.8M in the final year of the rookie deal based on the league’s rookie wage scale. That contract will also be fully guaranteed at signing.
Love is a great player, but he simply no longer makes sense for Kansas City given the free-agent investment they’ve made. It tells me that the Chiefs never expected him to make it to pick No. 9 in the first place. It also tells me that they’ll target a player on Day 2 or Day 3 of the draft to reinforce their depth behind Walker.
The Chiefs’ free agency investments thus far point to a few potential options at pick No. 9
The Chiefs have addressed a ton of needs in free agency thus far, beyond just the running back position. They re-signed Travis Kelce and Tyquan Thornton to give Patrick Mahomes some familiar weapons. They added a nose tackle to take some heat off of Chris Jones. They added a free safety to replace Bryan Cook.
The biggest remaining need seems rather clear: The edge rusher position.
Kansas City has not made a substantial investment in the position opposite George Karlaftis after releasing Mike Danna. While they could still add a player in free agency, the position feels like a natural first-round target, with players like Texas Tech DE David Bailey and Miami DE Rueben Bain Jr. in mind at pick No. 9.
From there, the Chiefs could still look to improve their group of pass-catchers, their defensive secondary, or even their offensive line group. At the end of the day, we know that Brett Veach doesn’t like to enter the draft with any glaring needs, so it’s possible that this could completely change in just a few weeks’ time.
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Kansas City Chiefs 2026 NFL Free Agency Tracker: Keeping up with latest roster moves, trades, cuts, signings, and more
Tracking everything done by the Kansas City Chiefs during the 2026 NFL free agency period.
