Kansas City Chiefs now in a three-way tie for one of the NFL’s longest active droughts in a key phase of the game
The Chiefs need a 1,000-yard rusher, badly.
The 2026 NFL Draft will be crucial for the Kansas City Chiefs in fixing the issues that went wrong in 2025. If they nail the draft and free agency, they can be right back to competing for Super Bowls. Of course, that’s barring any crazy injuries or setbacks to already injured players.
No. 1 on the Chiefs’ to-do list is getting Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid a running back. If that’s not the No. 1 thing, it’s top-three for sure. Mahomes has never had a dynamic running back, let alone one that’s rushed for 1,000 yards in a season when he was the starter. In fact, the Chiefs are officially in a three-way tie for the longest streak without a 1,000-yard rusher.
The Chiefs’ holding the longest active streak without a 1,000-yard rusher only proves they need to draft an RB
The Chiefs are tied with the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Chargers as the teams with the longest active streak without having a 1,000-yard rusher. Since then, the Chargers and Saints have had dynamic backs in Austin Ekeler and Alvin Kamara, both of whom have dealt with injuries. Those guys have also been great out of the back field.
This year, the Chiefs’ running game was one of the main reasons the offense was bad. There were plenty of other reasons, too. However, the running game never got going, so everything else sputtered. If Kansas City can select a good running back in the 2026 NFL Draft, who knows, a lot of its offensive issues last year could be fixed.
As of right now, Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco are set to be free agents this offseason. Given how this franchise and front office have operated as of late, they may bring both back. However, they shouldn’t. In fact, they should maybe only bring one back as a backup, if the money is right.
With the way the draft order is right now, the Chiefs would be in line to have the No. 9 overall pick. If they beat the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, which they likely will, they will likely have the No. 10 pick. The highest pick they would have seems to be No. 12. At any of those picks, it feels like Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love will be available. If he is, the Chiefs have to go get him.
That could open the Chiefs’ Super Bowl window right back up to continue this dynasty.
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