Kenneth Walker and Emmett Johnson could be the NFL's next Sonic & Knuckles

When the Kansas City Chiefs signed Kenneth Walker III in March, there was a sigh of relief among all of Chiefs Kingdom, including a "Hallelujah" from the Mahomes household. But then GM Brett Veach doubled down and drafted Emmett Johnson out of Nebraska, one of the most elusive running backs in the draft, one month later.

Another massive weight was suddenly off the shoulders (and surgery-repaired leg) of Patrick Mahomes, and they have both proven their worth early in the 2026 season.

With Walker III, aka "K9," dominating the ground game and NFL defenses through the first month and Johnson picking up a lot of slack when K9 needs a break, they are turning into one of the best one-two backfields in the league.

Recently, that title belonged to the dynamic duo known as "Sonic & Knuckles" in Detroit, with 12th overall pick Jahmyr Gibbs (Sonic) and Iowa State legend David Montgomery (Knuckles). Gibbs was known for his speed, Montgomery for his power—hence the classic video game and film characters.

That was then. This is now.

Montgomery is still returning to form from injury for a destitute Houston team, and Gibbs has been left to fend for himself in Detroit until former Chief Isiah Pacheco returns from injury later this season. The throne is seemingly empty, awaiting Walker and Johnson to climb in and take the top spot.

Kenneth Walker has already transformed the Chiefs' running game

Kansas City is 4-0. They have run all over every defense they've faced. K9 leads the league in rushing yards per game (134.3) and missed tackles forced (42) and recently was awarded AFC Offensive Player of the Month (the first Chief to do so since Kareem Hunt in 2017).

Meanwhile, Johnson has had bursts of success in all four games when he has been needed and even had a viral moment after forcing three Colts defenders to tackle themselves in Week 2.

Walker's brute strength and ability to be patient when waiting for gaps to open already make him a dual threat, but adding in a slippery RB2 behind him with fresh legs and a 60% missed-tackle-forced rate ... and that's the making of the best running back duo in the league.

There are obviously still four months of football to be played before a full season of stats can be analyzed, plays can be dissected, and awards can be given, but the writing is on the wall early that K9 and Johnson could become the next "Sonic & Knuckles."

Great running back tandems existed long before Sonic & Knuckles

It goes without saying that Gibbs and Montgomery were not the first dangerous duo in a team's backfield. Just imagine the teams and run games that existed before you or your parents were born.

Some of the most notable ones include the 'Tecmo Super Bowl' combination of Marcus Allen and Bo Jackson, who dominated the league in Raiders uniforms before both eventually played in Kansas City.

Those four seasons (1987-90) saw Allen rush for 2,560 yards and add another 1,093 as a receiver while scoring 28 total touchdowns. All the while, Jackson (before his serious injury in 1990) added another 2,782 yards on the ground and 18 total touchdowns to go along with a modest 352 receiving yards.

Jackson's injuries obviously hindered the duo from dominating in the playoffs, if they could even reach them. Otherwise, they might be known as the best running back combo in NFL history.

At the same time that Allen and Jackson were in black and silver, there was the nasty combination of Tony Dorsett and Herschel Walker ... at least for two seasons before one of the craziest and most famous trades in NFL history.

Both backs gained over 730 rushing yards in 1986, combining for 17 touchdowns, but production faltered the next year when Dorsett only played 12 games due to the ongoing strike and the emergence of Walker.

But for 18 months, the Cowboys' running back room was feared across the league, even though the Cowboys team itself never finished above .500.

Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew provided the modern blueprint

During Sonic & Knuckles' childhoods, they probably watched the modern-day version of themselves, when Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew (aka MJD) pretty much dragged the Jaguars above mediocrity for the first time in nearly a decade.

From 2006-08, the double-headed monster in the backfield of Jacksonville had rookie MJD fire out of the chute and average 5.7 yards per rush for nearly 1,000 yards on the ground. Taylor was in his prime, too, rushing for over 1,100 yards.

The duo set a franchise single-game rushing record of 375 yards in Week 14 against Indianapolis, which ranked in the top ten all-time at the time, tied with the 1977 Chicago Bears.

After passing the torch to MJD over the three seasons, Taylor earned a Pro Bowl nod and rushed for over 1,000 yards in two of the three years. Both backs were easily the most responsible for the franchise's first playoff win since 1999, when they beat Pittsburgh in 2007.

There have been quite a few more, but most recently it has been Gibbs and Montgomery. So now, who should be climbing the list of best duos in the backfield?

Why Walker and Johnson could be the NFL's next great duo

The stats have already been shown, and even then, the sample size is small, but there are so many factors that go into making the most feared backfield among all 32 teams.

It's not just pure quantitative results, but it's what the two backs can turn an offense into, and so far, the Chiefs and Andy Reid have shown that KC is now a run-first team for the first time since Mahomes arrived.

They proved that by entering Week 4 with a rush play percentage of 47.42%, the highest since 2018 by nearly 6%. So now, opposing defenses are quivering, trying to figure out how to stop Mahomes' magic and a one-two punch in between the tackles—not an easy task.

Johnson was drafted for his speed and juking ability, but he is also a killer in the passing game coming out of the backfield. He proved all of that and more in his final college football season when he led all draft-eligible backs in missed tackles forced (68) and receptions by a running back (46).

This all creates a perfect juxtaposition to K9's patient and stand-up running style that can occasionally be accentuated by receptions.

With the skill set that both bring to Kansas City, it's hard not to see the success and the accolades just beyond the headlights. Even if they aren't the most dominant in one or two aspects, the combination of the two alongside a QB and coach that can get them the ball will be enough to change defensive coordinators' decisions and create confusion for defensive captains on the field.

Chiefs have something other top rushing attacks are missing

Another reason that K9 and Johnson can take over for Sonic & Knuckles as the top duo is the fact that other rush-first teams in the league are extremely top-heavy. Chicago has an aging D'Andre Swift and a young gun in waiting with Kyle Monangai. They combine for 678 of the team's 866 yards on the ground (78.2%).

Then there's Atlanta in second with 834 rushing yards, with freshly paid Bijan Robinson accounting for 69.5% all by himself (580). The Ravens are in third place with just over 820 rushing yards, but mainly due to their one workhorse of a running back—Derrick Henry (476 yards)—and their freak athlete dual-threat quarterback Lamar Jackson (144).

The Bills (790 rushing yards) are in the same boat as Baltimore, relying heavily on their MVP QB to take a serious chunk of their rushing attempts (29.3%, to be exact) to compensate for the lack of an RB2 behind James Cook (532 rushing yards).

No matter which way you look at it, the Chiefs have the brightest future at running back among the top rushing teams so far this year, if not because of Walker's immense talent, then because of the high ceiling that Johnson brings and the danger that Mahomes can bring in the RPO plays now that teams actually fear the "R" part of the acronym.

Now Walker and Johnson just need a nickname

One of the main reasons that people were so infatuated with the Detroit rushing attack these past few years wasn't just the tenacity on the field but the duo's nickname as well. Sonic and Knuckles were already two well-known characters, brought on screen in cartoons, movies, and three decades of video games. Now the Chiefs' backfield might just be a nickname away from really taking the league by storm.

So far, there have been plenty of fan favorites online, but none have been acknowledged by the Chiefs' running back tandem. Leave a comment on what you think the best name could be for the emerging rushing attack that Mahomes has prayed for since entering the league! Some ideas to get us started:

• -The Wolf Pack (KC Wolf would approve)
• Power & Light (an homage to KC's party district)
• Crash & Dash (both players' skill sets on display)
• K9 & E10 (or BIG10)
• Alpha & K9
• Thunder & Lightning (with respect to Tiki Barber and Ron Dayne)
• K9 & E-Money
• Shake & Bake (Ricky Bobby would approve)
• Slice & Dice
• Batman & Robin
• Fox & the Hound
• Shock & Awe
• Red & Gold Rush

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