The Kansas City Chiefs came out of their disappointing 2025 season in desperate need of improving their running back room. The duo of Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt simply couldn't take enough of the offensive load off of Patrick Mahomes and a Chiefs passing game that was short on playmakers and original ideas. The Chiefs made three key additions to their backfield during the offseason with the signings of Kenneth Walker and Emari Demercado and drafting Emmett Johnson. All three backs were assumed to be locks for the active roster this season, but now one of them may find their job in question going into preseason game number two.
The hype around Kenneth Walker has been steady since the start of training camp. He is clearly set to be the Chiefs' lead back and should add a level of big-play potential that Kansas City has been sorely lacking in recent years. Emmett Johnson is also getting a lot of buzz. The rookie has looked good throughout camp and had a fantastic first preseason game. in which he rushed for 59 yards and consistently broke tackles. Meanwhile, Emari Demercado has been an afterthought through much of camp and didn't even get into the first preseason game until late, ending with just 3 carries for 9 yards.
Demercado's role may not be as secure as expected
The real question around Demercado is how the Chiefs coaching staff views him. The reason most people expected him to be a lock for the roster is that he was viewed as the best pass protector in the running back room. With the Chiefs' franchise player, Patrick Mahomes, recovering from a major knee injury, it seemed like a safe bet that the veteran back with good pass pro could be penciled into the third-down back role even if other backs were more dangerous with the ball in their hands.
It could be that the Chiefs do still see Demercado that way and they simply aren't giving him a lot of looks in camp and the preseason games because they see him as a known quantity, a player that they can trust to protect Mahomes, but who doesn't have the offensive upside of the other backs that could see playing time this season. Maybe Demercado continues to run with the second- and third-string units while K.C. tests the offensive prowess of guys like Johnson and Brashard Smith, and then in Week 1, Demercado is the one out there on passing downs when Mahomes is facing an opposing pass rush.
It could also be that the Chiefs just like the all-around package of Johnson and Smith more than they do Demercado. Reid has recently favored the "safe" back, but with Kansas City looking to really improve its offensive production at running back, they may be willing to change their approach.
Brashard Smith has complicated the Chiefs' backfield picture
Perhaps the biggest surprise of preseason game one was that Brashard Smith was ahead of both Johnson and Demercado. The Chiefs seemed hesitant to use Smith much at running back at all last season until the last game, when almost none of the starters played. However, Smith has regularly been the next man up after Walker in camp practices, and that was also the case in their first preseason game.
Perhaps the Chiefs will keep four running backs in Walker, Smith, Johnson, and Demercado, but if the Chiefs want to make room for an extra player elsewhere, it feels like it would be Smith and Demercado going head-to-head for the last spot. Obviously, Kenneth Walker is safe, and Johnson has looked good enough as a 2026 draft pick that his roster spot is secure.
So as the Chiefs take the field against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday, keep an eye on when and how much Demercado plays. Will the Chiefs change up the order the backs come in, or will Demercado be the clear RB4 again in this game? Will the Chiefs give him more opportunities this time (even if it's with the backups) to show what he can do?
It will be fascinating to see if Demercado's use in camp and the preseason games reflects his standing in Kansas City's plan for running back use this season, or if this is more of a case of "let's see what Smith and Johnson can do since we already trust Demercado to be our pass-pro specialist." Either way, the good news for Chiefs fans is that the Chiefs look like they will have a much better running back room this season than they have had in a very long time.
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