The Kansas City Chiefs made one of the biggest blockbuster moves in free agency, signing reigning Super Bowl MVP running back Kenneth Walker III to a three-year deal.
The Kansas City Chiefs were desperate to revamp its running back room after having little success from free agent running backs Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco in 2025.
For months, National Football League draft experts and analysts have been putting together mock drafts. Many of them included the Chiefs selecting star Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love with the ninth-overall pick.
Well, that’s extremely unlikely after Kansas City made a splash on the first unofficial day of free agency. The Chiefs inked former Seattle Seahawk and reigning Super Bowl Most Valuable Player RB Kenneth Walker III to a three-year, $43 million deal that could be worth up to $45 million with $28.7 million fully guaranteed.
The deal puts Walker among the highest-paid running backs in the NFL, earning $14.35 million per season, and he deserves it. Walker played in every game last season, amassing 1,027 yards and five touchdowns on 221 carries as well as 31 receptions for 282 yards. In the playoffs, Walker was incredible, especially during the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots.
He had 65 carries for 313 yards and four touchdowns to go along with nine receptions for 104 yards. Walker took over the Super Bowl for the Seahawks, earning MVP honors after an impressive 135-yard game on 27 carries.
As a guy who generates explosive chunk plays on the ground, the fit between Walker and the Chiefs was obvious. But ESPN’s Bill Barnwell is unsure if the fit is actually that great and when creating his winners and losers list for free agency, Walker was listed as “TBD” (to be determined).
“My hesitation comes from looking at how the Chiefs run their offense,” Barnwell wrote Monday. “Under coach Andy Reid and with [Patrick] Mahomes at the helm, the Chiefs have primarily been a gun-run, zone-heavy offense, with them sprinkling in liberal doses of run-pass options to create conflict for second-level defenders.”
Barnwell explains that this strategy worked in the past but it hasn’t over the last few seasons because the team doesn’t lean into it enough, and the league has recently gone away from that type of rushing attack.
Coach Reid is sort of stubborn when it comes to his offense and he often runs out of shotgun because of Mahomes’ effectiveness from that position, but after a disappointing and underwhelming season last year, it seems like the run scheme may be undergoing some changes.
Considering the Chiefs rarely run from under center, that will be a huge shift in philosophy, but a necessary one to get the most out of Walker.
“He has averaged 4.5 yards per carry and posted a 40% success rate on runs from under center as a pro,” wrote Barnwell. “That dropped to 4.1 yards per carry with a 37% success rate -- the lowest among backs with 400 carries or more over the past four years -- when the Seahawks ran him out of the gun or pistol.”
I think this signing will benefit both parties, but only time will tell. Mahomes finally gets the star dual-threat RB he’s been lacking his whole career. Hunt had some great seasons and is better in short-yardage situations, but he isn’t on Walker’s level.
Barnwell isn't sure of it yet, but he does believe signing Walker instead of drafting Love with the No. 9 pick is a much better way to address the organization's ground game issues.