The Kansas City Chiefs have gotten back to winning ways after a dismal 6-11 record during the 2025 NFL season, starting 2-0 this year against two non-trivial opponents in last season’s #1 seed and division rivals the Denver Broncos, along with the Indianapolis Colts.
Both games have seen the Chiefs put up 30+ points, making them the third ranked scoring offense in the NFL after the Buffalo Bills and Carolina Panthers two games in. In particular, the addition of running back and Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker has seen exceptionally strong early returns.
Walker leads the league in rushing with 290 yards on the ground, nearly 80 more than the second placed Derrick Henry, who has 212. Walker also has 79 receiving yards and leads scoring in fantasy PPR leagues (a good indication of overall performance).
Yet, an almost bigger surprise in the room at RB has been the emergence of rookie fifth round pick Emmett Johnson.
Johnson averaged 7.5 yards-per-carry against the Colts last week, and has also shown himself to be proficient in the receiving game, managing 4 receptions for 64 yards over his first two games as a pro.
So impressive has Johnson been, both in practice and on the field, that running back coach and former All-Pro DeMarco Murray said to the media on Thursday that the team is looking to give “more opportunities” to Johnson, implying that he could have an expanded role in the weeks to come.
Emmett Johnson to Be Given ‘More Opportunities’ on Offense
“He’ll continue to get more opportunities… Everything we’ve asked him to do, from special teams to blocking to running, he’s done a tremendous job.” Murray said on Sep. 24 to Charles Goldman.
Johnson had a somewhat hit-and-miss debut as a rusher against the Broncos, carrying the ball 8 times for 24 yards, averaging a below par 3 yards-per-carry. However, this was countered by excellence in the passing game as he caught the ball twice for 44 yards.
This may have contributed from his snap percentage halving, from 36% in Week 1 to 18% in Week 2. By consequence, Walker has the fifth highest offensive snap percentage (75.8%) of all running backs in the league, making him one of the NFL’s true “bell cows” through two weeks with his new team.
Chiefs Would Be Smart to Utilize Johnson More in Run Game
But given Walker’s unfortunate injury record; 10 missed games in a little over four years in the NFL; will likely mean that the Chiefs will want to avoid overloading him with touches in order to preserve his health, both for this year and next.
Equally, Kansas City will no doubt also wanted a prepared backup who has carried the ball multiple times as a pro if Walker does end up going down at some point throughout the season, which for Kansas City can be upwards of 20 games in total.
It’s unlikely that Johnson and Walker will start to split touches 50-50 anytime soon, nor would it make much sense to do so. But expect to see Johnson involved more over the next month and more.
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