![Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) rushes for yards during the third quarter of an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Bills defeated the Jaguars 27-24. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_3709,h_2086/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/130/01kgmn8zv4wkc9m6r3te.jpg "Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) rushes for yards during the third quarter of an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Bills defeated the Jaguars 27-24. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]")
The Kansas City Chiefs cannot continue to ignore their lackluster backfield this offseason. Chiefs fans knew the running back position desperately needed help this time last year, but for whatever reason, Brett Veach didn't do much to fix it.
Alex Kay of Bleacher Report has a way for the Chiefs to fix it, and it's a name that hasn't been linked to K.C. as much as someone like Breece Hall has. Kay said that his predicted landing spot for Jaguars running back Travis Etienne this offseason was Kansas Cit,y and it's probably not a move that Chiefs fans would hate.
"With [Mahomes] now working his way back from a major knee injury, the Chiefs must bring in an upper-echelon back who can shoulder a large chunk of the offensive load in 2025. Etienne fits the bill as a do-it-all playmaker who can give this flailing backfield a much-needed shot in the arm."
Chiefs can’t ignore their broken backfield and Travis Etienne fixes it fast
It's hard to argue with that. The Chiefs do need help at running back, and Etienne would make sense for them. The former Clemson star was a first-round pick by Jacksonville in 2021 with the idea of keeping him and Trevor Lawrence together.
Etienne missed his entire rookie year due to injury but bounced back in a major way in 2022, tallying over 1,400 yards from scrimmage and five total touchdowns. The next year, things went even better for him, as he once again had over 1,400 yards from scrimmage but upped the overall touchdowns to 12. This past year saw him with a career-high 13 total touchdowns, and that's production that Chiefs fans would love to have from one of their running backs.
The fact of the matter is that the Chiefs can't continue to hope that Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco are enough for them at running back. It's time to seriously upgrade the position because, in doing so, it'll help take the pressure off of Patrick Mahomes. Both Hunt and Pacheco are headed to free agency as it is.
While a lot of outlets have linked the Chiefs to Hall, Etienne makes sense, too. Hall is younger, but that would likely make him the more expensive option. Either guy would probably make Chiefs fans happy because it'd give the offense a true rushing threat, something this team hasn't had for a few years.