The long wait for the Kansas City Chiefs' 2026 season is finally over. Tonight, the Chiefs will take the field against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football. This time around, the Broncos are the defending AFC West champions coming off an AFC Championship Game appearance, and the Chiefs are the team trying to dethrone them. It is poised to be a great test for both teams, and if K.C. is going to come out on top, it needs its biggest free-agent acquisition to step up right away.
The Chiefs spent their top four draft picks replenishing the talent on their defense and are relying on mostly returning players getting healthy on offense to improve their offensive production. The one exception to that is free-agent running back Kenneth Walker. After years of saving money at the running back position and investing their money in the passing game and offensive line, the Chiefs made Walker the ninth-highest-paid running back in the league, coming off his Super Bowl MVP-winning season with the Seattle Seahawks in 2025.
The logic is clear. The Chiefs' running game had become anemic, even by Andy Reid's standards, in the last few years, and far too much weight was being put on Patrick Mahomes and the passing game. You mix in some predictable play-calling from Reid, and it's easy to see why their production dropped off. Now, with Mahomes coming off the most significant injury of his football career, it makes sense that the Chiefs would invest in a real weapon at running back to restore some balance, take some of the workload off Mahomes, and open up some different game plans and plays for the offense.
Kenneth Walker is the key to keeping Denver’s pass rush in check
With this approach to the offseason, the Chiefs are obviously counting on Walker to be an important part of their offense. However, that is more true against the Broncos in Week 1 than in any other matchup on their schedule. Last season, the Broncos allowed the second-fewest rushing yards in the NFL and led the NFL in team sacks, beating the second-place team by 11 sacks. Not to oversimplify things, but the Broncos stuffed the run, forced teams into third-and-long situations, and then pinned their ears back and attacked the quarterback.
The Chiefs enter this game desperately needing to avoid having it come down to consistently winning on third-and-long. Patrick Mahomes may have been fully cleared to play after his knee surgery, but K.C. still doesn't want him running for his life all game long. To make matters worse, by far the biggest question mark on the offense is the pass protection of Kansas City's offensive tackles.
The Chiefs will be starting undrafted rookie Kahlil Benson at left tackle (despite his playing right tackle in college) and underperforming Jaylon Moore at right tackle. Having either of those two take on Nik Bonitto one-on-one on the outside on third-and-long is a sack waiting to happen. Bonitto has developed into one of the NFL's elite speed rushers, totaling 27.5 sacks over the past two seasons. The key to stopping him isn't dropping back and praying the tackles hold up, but keeping him off the field altogether by establishing the run and keeping third downs short and manageable.
Two years ago with the Seahawks, Kenneth Walker also opened his season at home against the Broncos and had a very good game, rushing for 103 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries and leading Seattle to a 26-20 win. That is the kind of performance the Chiefs will likely need from Walker if they want to get a win on Monday night and not let the Denver pass rush key in on Patrick Mahomes.
A balanced offense would make life easier for Patrick Mahomes
Beyond the obvious benefits of moving the ball on the ground and taking some pressure (both physical and mental) off Patrick Mahomes, establishing the run will help Andy Reid avoid getting too predictable with his play-calling. Allowing Reid to finally use play action to pair with a solid running game would add a new dimension for defenses to deal with. It will also allow for more third-and-short passing plays in which a five-yard quick throw to Travis Kelce, Rashee Rice, or Cyrus Allen—or even a screen to Walker—will be enough to move the chains with a five-yard pickup instead of requiring Mahomes to take a deep drop to make a long throw and exposing him and his offensive tackles.
The Chiefs gave Walker a nice payday this offseason, and he was really the only significant investment they made on that side of the ball. Now, he needs to come out in Week 1 against Kansas City's biggest division rival and prove that investment was a good one. If Walker can add a new dimension to K.C.'s offense and bring some balance, the Chiefs will absolutely have a chance to win this game. If his production is like that of Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco last season, just with a bigger paycheck, it could be a very long night for Patrick Mahomes and all of Chiefs Kingdom.
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