One unbelievable Priest Holmes stat shows what Chiefs fans have been missing

Kansas City Chiefs fans who came up watching Patrick Mahomes air it out have never really had a running back steal the show. That might be about to change. Kenneth Walker III is now in the fold on a three-year, $43 million contract after cashing in on his Super Bowl MVP performance with the Seattle Seahawks. And for newer members of Chiefs Kingdom, it's worth knowing what that kind of backfield used to look like in K.C.

While the Chiefs' backfield has ranked among the least effective in recent years, longtime fans hold vivid memories of watching talented backs anchor fear-inducing ground games. From Christian Okoye to Larry Johnson and Jamaal Charles to Marcus Allen, Chiefs history is loaded with impact rushers.

We bring all of this up because a random stat recently surfaced, and it's a nice reminder given Walker's arrival.

That's a list of the NFL's leaders in yards from scrimmage in a single season. It's dominated by Hall of Famers and all-time greats, but they're all bested by the one and only Priest Holmes—with a whopping 163.4 yards/game average back in 2002.

Here's hoping Kenneth Walker can remind Chiefs fans of what a dominant ground game looked like.

That total looks silly, but if you aren't familiar with Holmes, you should know that's just the beginning. Holmes' tenure in K.C. is the stuff of legends beyond that one stat or season. The Chiefs signed him to a modest deal in free agency after he'd been cast aside by the Baltimore Ravens, given the presence of Jamal Lewis, coming off consecutive seasons with just over 500 yards rushing. The Chiefs were hoping he could rejuvenate a rushing attack that had relied on fullbacks Tony Richardson and Kimble Anders.

In his first season alone, Holmes led the NFL in rushing with 1,555 yards and added another 614 receiving yards as well. With 10 touchdowns, Holmes led the league with 2,169 yards from scrimmage and was named first-team All-Pro. That was merely the appetizer, however, for that record-setting season. In 2022, Holmes somehow had even more yards from scrimmage with 2,287 (again, leading the NFL) to go with a whopping 24 total touchdowns, which garnered him an Offensive Player of the Year Award.

Somehow, Holmes was able to top that touchdown total with another 27 scores in 2003 to go with his third consecutive season over 2,000 yards from scrimmage. He was on the same torrid pace to start his fourth year in K.C., with 14 touchdowns and 1,079 yards from scrimmage through just 8 games, but a hamstring injury sidelined him for the rest of the season. A helmet-to-helmet hit suffered the following season would cause a neck/spinal injury that would shelve him after 7 games and for the rest of 2006 as well. He would ultimately retire in 2027 after a short-lived comeback attempt.

Nobody's asking Walker to come close to that, nor will he have the opportunity in today's NFL and with Andy Reid as head coach. But Kansas City did commit $28.7 million guaranteed toward making its running backs matter again. After watching Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt lead the rushing attack, Walker's explosive ability will look like the resurgent backfields of old. Last season, Walker forced 61 missed tackles per Pro Football Focus with 10 carries of 20-plus yards.

Walker isn't going to be Holmes. Nobody will, and even Holmes didn't stay Holmes for long. But after years of watching the run game sputter, Walker arrives with the kind of juice that makes a backfield worth watching again. That's a throwback worth getting excited about.

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