The Kansas City Chiefs’ decision to bring in Kenneth Walker III this offseason is looking like a home run. The running back was just named AFC Player of the Month, and he’s giving Kansas City’s ground game exactly what it needed.
The goal when the Chiefs signed Walker was simple: inject some explosiveness into a run game that was stuck in neutral for much of last season.
Three games in, Walker has done exactly that.
Walker Has Turned Into The Chiefs’ Secret Weapon
Kenneth Walker Could Expose the Raiders’ Run Defense
Walker has been making defenders look silly all season. He leads the NFL with 38 forced missed tackles, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. And here’s the wild part: no other running back has forced more than 10 missed tackles in a single game this season. Walker? He’s done it in all three games, forcing at least 12 in each.
That kind of juice could come in handy against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Las Vegas hasn’t exactly had much success slowing down Patrick Mahomes since he took over in Kansas City. But if there’s one part of the Chiefs’ history against the Raiders that hasn’t been pretty, it’s the ground game.
Mahomes has started 15 games against Las Vegas, and Kansas City has topped 100 rushing yards in just six of those matchups. The Chiefs have also been held to 85 rushing yards or fewer six times in that span.
And here’s another eyebrow-raising stat: no Chiefs running back has cracked 70 rushing yards against the Raiders with Mahomes under center.
Walker has spent the first three weeks of this season making a habit of breaking tackles and creating chunk plays. Meanwhile, Las Vegas’ run defense has been anything but dominant.
If the Raiders can’t clean that up, Walker could have plenty of opportunities to put his trademark explosiveness on display Sunday.
Walker Finally Gives the Chiefs a Home-Run Threat
Here’s the easiest way to put Walker impact into perspective. Mahomes has never had a 1,000-yard rusher as the Chiefs’ starting quarterback.
Kareem Hunt came close in Mahomes’ first season, rushing for 824 yards in just 11 games before his release. Since then, Kansas City’s backfield has mostly been built around solid, serviceable backs rather than the kind of home-run hitter who can flip a game with one carry.
Walker changes that equation.
His explosiveness has also given the Chiefs more flexibility in how they operate. Kansas City can line up under center, establish the run and build off play-action instead of living out of shotgun and leaning on RPOs. Against Miami, Mahomes completed 11 of 12 play-action passes for 183 yards—a glimpse of what this offense can look like when the run game actually forces defenses to respect it.
And that’s where Walker really changes the math for opposing defenses.
In previous seasons, defenses could sell out to slow Mahomes and dare Kansas City’s ground game to beat them. Now, load up the box and Walker can hit the second level. Play light and drop extra defenders into coverage? The Chiefs can hand it to him and let him cook.
For the first time in a while, Kansas City has a legitimate pick-your-poison element to its offense.
Walker’s legs are still fresh, and he could easily be the toughest running back the Raiders have faced this season. But here’s the problem for Las Vegas: sell out to stop Walker, and you’re leaving Mahomes with exactly the kind of one-on-one looks he loves.
Good luck with that.
Main Image: Denny Medley-Imagn Images
