The Kansas City Chiefs haven't had a legitimate run game very often during Patrick Mahomes' tenure but that hopefully changes in 2026. Not only did the team sign reigning Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker to a hefty contract but they drafted Nebraska's Emmett Johnson in the fifth round to bolster the backfield as well.
One underrated move, however, is the addition of Emari Demercado, who spent the previous three years with the Arizona Cardinals. Demercado isn't a super well-known name, which isn't surprising considering the team he played for and the fact that he never tallied more than 315 rushing yards in a single season.
That said, Demercado could be the key in completely unlocking Walker's potential in Kansas City. Or at least that's what Aaron Schatz of ESPN thinks. Schatz named Demercado as a non-starter on the Chiefs roster that people should know about.
"Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III is now Kansas City's primary back, but he has never had more than 230 carries in a season and played all 17 games only once (last year). The Chiefs will probably have to depend a little bit on their backups, and the top guy is Demercado, an ex-Cardinal. Similar to Walker, Demercado is good for some explosive runs and had a career average of 6.5 yards per carry over three seasons with Arizona. He also has 50 career receptions."
Emari Demercado could be huge help to unlocking Kenneth Walker in 2026
Walker's addition to the backfield is certainly a big one, but as Schatz noted, he's only been fully healthy in one season, which was last year. The Chiefs will likely need to depend on Demercado and Johnson to step up if Walker misses time, and it sounds like Schatz is confident that the former Cardinals running back can fill in admirably.
The Chiefs made it a priority to become more explosive in the backfield, and the investment in Walker is proof of that. But Demercado posted an explosive run percentage of 13.64, per SumerSports, which measures "the percent of rushing plays that were in the top 10 percentile of yards gained." Demercado ranked third in the entire NFL for all backs with 40 or more carries. Small sample size, sure, but the Chiefs' emphasis on dynamism is clear here.
Demarcado also profiles as a nice third-down back who has caught 50 passes in rotational duty for the Cardinals over the last three years. Fans in the desert will mostly remember him for a bone-headed fumble against the Titans a year ago, but one high-profile mistake shouldn't erase a greater body of work.
The Chiefs are heading into 2026 with their most talented group of running backs of the Mahomes era and that's exciting to think about. The run game hasn't been a huge help to Mahomes in recent years but with the two-time MVP coming off the first major injury of his pro career, the rushing attack has to be able to take some pressure off of him. Here's to hoping that Demercado ends up being one of the sneakiest signings of the 2026 offseason.
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