Grading the signing: Kenneth Walker III gives Kansas City Chiefs free agency fix they desperately needed at running back

Grading the Kansas City Chiefs’ decision to sign RB Kenneth Walker III in free agency.

Charles Goldman — NFL Managing Editor
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The Kansas City Chiefs made a splash during the opening hour of the legal tampering period, signing Seattle Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III to a three-year contract worth over $43M.

That’s right, the Chiefs are pairing the reigning Super Bowl MVP with another former Super Bowl MVP in star QB Patrick Mahomes. They’ll also pair Walker with offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and running backs coach DeMarco Murray, both former NFL RBs themselves.

This move comes as no surprise, given the Chiefs’ overwhelming needs at the position. They had only two players at the position under contract for 2026 before this move (Brashard Smith and ShunDerrick Powell). Walker won’t be the only player to shoulder the load, but he’s definitely going to be a workhorse back in Kansas City. He is also a direct fix to a big problem that the Chiefs faced just a season ago.

New Chiefs RB Kenneth Walker III fixes a lot of the problems with the running game in 2026

Explosive plays were the biggest problem for the Chiefs’ running game in 2025, and Walker certainly knows how to get some of those.

The running back room in Kansas City produced only 22 carries of 10+ yards just a season ago, while Walker produced 33 rushes of 10+ yards himself, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. The Chiefs had a single running back run of 20+ yards, but Walker had 10 in Seattle. The Seahawks also faced one of the lowest light-box (6 or fewer defenders) rates in the NFL (26.4%), while the Chiefs faced the highest rate in the league (47.4%). Not only should Walker be able to fix the problems that Kansas City had running the football in 2025, but there’s reason to believe that he could be even more efficient and explosive than he was a season ago.

He’s an underrated asset as a pass-catcher, too. That’s something the running game has lacked in recent years in Kansas City, once Jerick McKinnon left. He’s caught 133 receptions on 161 targets, catching 82.6% of passes thrown his way during his NFL career. Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes will really like that aspect of his game.

Let’s not forget his Super Bowl and playoff experience this past year. He had three consecutive games of over 100 scrimmage yards. That’s the type of piece that can help Kansas City get back to where they want to be, and if they pair him with the right help, it could quickly help this team’s running back room ascend to one of the NFL’s best during the 2026 NFL season.

At the end of the day, Walker making some big plays in the running game can force teams out of the two-high coverage shells they love to use against the Chiefs and open up the passing game in a way they just haven’t been able to. This isn’t just a fix for the running game, but also a fix for the offense’s overall identity.

Grade: A-

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