The Kansas City Chiefs took a big swing when they signed running back Kenneth Walker III this offseason, hoping that the Super Bowl MVP would add a new element to their offense.
The investment has worked out well so far, with Walker creating a strong counterpart to Patrick Mahomes and the passing game. As the team noted, he just turned in the best two-game stretch for any Chiefs running back in the last five years.
Kenneth Walker’s Hot Start for the Chiefs
After Sunday night’s 33-30 overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts, the Chiefs took to social media to announce a significant accomplishment for Walker.
“K9 is the first Chief to rush for 100+ yards in back-to-back games since 2021,” the team noted in a post on X.
Walker had 117 rushing yards in this week’s win, adding six receptions for 61 yards. He has 290 total rushing yards and a touchdown through the first two weeks — with 396 all-purpose yards — putting him on pace to crush his career-best season of 1,050 yards in his rookie season with the Seattle Seahawks in 2022.
Walker’s historic start is even more impressive when adding his receiving stats. As ESPN noted, he is the first Chiefs player since Larry Johnson in 2005 to generate 175 or more all-purpose yards in consecutive games.
Chiefs Praise Kenneth Walker III’s Performance
The Chiefs added Walker as something of an insurance policy for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who returned from a season-ending knee injury in 2025 and faced uncertainty about whether he would be back to full health.
Mahomes has shown no signs of decline so far, but said he likes the way Walker keeps defenses honest.
“It’s fun for me,” Mahomes said, via ESPN. “Him running the ball and our offensive line driving off the ball the way they’re driving off, it’s making the defense have to account for that. If not, we’re going to run the ball for 200 yards or whatever we did the week before [against the Denver Broncos].
“You want to be able to do it all. We showcased that we can throw the ball down the field, we can play action and can also still run the ball.”
Walker said he likes becoming a bell cow running back, something he could never achieve in Seattle, where he split carries. The running back said he believes a high volume of rushing attempts allows him to get better as the game goes on.
“You can see what the defense is doing and how they’re playing,” Walker said of his second-half surges this season. “I get stronger. The way we condition, it’s a lot easier in the game.
“We worked on [our endurance] in training camp with a lot of long practices. We knew what we had to do. When you go through those practices, you have no choice [but to succeed].”
Chief Announce Kenneth Walker III News After Overtime Colts Win