The Kansas City Chiefs did something different this offseason by signing a big-name running back in free agency. Kenneth Walker, fresh off winning Super Bowl MVP as a member of the Seahawks, joined the Chiefs, providing the big backfield upgrade Kansas City desperately needed.
It's one thing to sign Walker and add pieces to an area that the Chiefs have largely ignored in recent years. It's another thing to actually utilize him.
Andy Reid is not a head coach known for running the ball and sticking with it. That's been one of his most frustrating coaching qualities, but the hope is that Walker's addition to the team -- paired with Patrick Mahomes returning from injury -- forces Reid to stick with the run a little more.
Reid recently spoke with former Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson during an interview on Westwood One Sports. Pederson brought up the addition of Walker and what it meant for the offense. Reid said he was looking forward to cutting Walker loose.
"I like the kid. I like his work ethic. He's all ball. And you love that part of him, works his tail off out of practice and in the classroom. And he has skill, which I think we were all able to see when he was in Seattle. He can catch the ball, he can block, he can run the ball, obviously. And we'll see how it all rolls out. But I'm kind of looking forward to seeing what he does and cutting him loose a little bit."
Well, that's certainly something but what exactly it means is TBD.
Andy Reid claims he's ready to run the ball but is he really?
The "cutting him loose" line is fun for Chiefs fans to hear but, to be perfectly honest, it's hard to really take Reid seriously here given how often he goes away from running the ball. Since Patrick Mahomes has been the starting quarterback, he's never had a running back who has rushed for over 1,000 yards.
For as brilliant a playcaller as Reid is, he's consistently put the bulk of the pressure on Mahomes' shoulders to get the job done.
Kareem Hunt 1.0 was a real force in the Chiefs' offense in 2018 but that's the closest the team got to having a 1,000-yard rusher under Mahomes. Since then, it's been an area that's done enough to scrape by but not be a real intimidating force. Reid's simply never been a coach that leans heavily on his rushing attack but that needs to change in 2026.
The hard truth is that the Chiefs can't lean on Mahomes to do everything the way they used to. Mahomes had a major season-ending injury in 2025 and he's put in the work to return to the lineup for Week 1. The Chiefs need to reward him by giving him a real running game that he can hand off to and take the pressure off of him.
Sure, Mahomes is as good as they come but Josh Allen has James Cook and Lamar Jackson has Derrick Henry to lean on. Mahomes now hopefully has that in Walker but only if Reid actually does indeed "cut him loose" and lets Walker run roughshod over opposing defenses.
The Chiefs signed Walker because they needed to bolster the rushing attack. Will Reid actually allow Walker to do what he was signed to do though or will he continue to stack everything on his quarterback's shoulders?
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