Stop me if you've heard this one before but the Kansas City Chiefs desperately need to upgrade their backfield in the offseason. There's a reason Chiefs fans have heard this non-stop and it's because the run game was incredibly underwhelming in 2025 and actually has been for a few years now.
With Eric Bieniemy returning to his old role as Chiefs offensive coordinator, Brett Veach will hopefully be looking to give him a talented running back to utilize in his offense. One name that was listed as a fit for Kansas City is Travis Etienne, who will be a free agent this spring.
Matt Bowen of ESPN put together a list of the top 50 free agents and their best fit and linked Etienne to the Chiefs.
"Etienne has the play speed to upgrade a Chiefs run game that ranked 25th last season (106.6 yards per game). And with his dual-threat ability as a pass catcher, Etienne would be schemed on screens and backfield releases in coach Andy Reid's system. This is a move to add more juice and big-play ability to the Kansas City offense. Etienne's 26 rushes of 10 or more yards with Jacksonville tied for 12th in the NFL last season."
A first-round pick by the Jaguars in 2022, Etienne has proven to be a dominant running back in the league and he's hitting the market after another tremendous year. He rushed for 1,107 yards and seven touchdowns during his 2025 season in Jacksonville and helped Liam Coen's offense thrive.
The Chiefs have not had a 1,000-yard rusher in a single season since Kareem Hunt did it in 2017. That was Mahomes' first year in the league and he wasn't even the starting quarterback then. Mahomes didn't necessarily need the run game's help at that stage of his career but now that he's coming off a major injury, the rushing attack is going to have to be more effective than it has been.
That's where Etienne could come into play. He's rushed for over 1,000 yards in three of his four seasons (he missed his rookie year due to an injury) and has had at least five rushing touchdowns in all but one year. He'd be a huge addition to this Chiefs backfield, no doubt.
Whether it's Etienne, Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker, or another big name on the running back free agent market, Chiefs fans hope that whoever comes in can help this offense pack a punch and take pressure off of Mahomes.