The Kansas City Chiefs wasted no time acquiring new free agents when the legal tampering period began on Monday.
They knew it was time for some fresh faces at key positions following a disappointing 6-11 2025 season. This will be a crucial offseason for the Chiefs as they look to revitalize their roster for the future.
Kansas City has parted with some big contributors from over the past several years, including cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, as well as safety Bryan Cook, linebacker Leo Chenal, and running back Isiah Pacheco. However, there is plenty of reason to be excited for the Chiefs’ newest additions to their roster.
RB Kenneth Walker III Named ‘Perfect Fit’ for Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs RB Kenneth Walker III- Getty
The Next Gen Stats analytics team recently identified their perfect player-team free agent pairings so far this offseason. They took scheme fit, as well as filling a pressing need, into consideration. The Chiefs and Walker, who received a three-year, $43.05 million contract with 28.7 guaranteed from Kansas City, kicked off the list.
“Walker’s decision to join the Chiefs projects as a spectacular move for both player and team. The MVP of Super Bowl LX will benefit from Kansas City’s upper-echelon blocking; in 2025, the Chiefs’ offensive line propelled the team’s rushers to a 43.6% success rate (seventh-highest in the NFL). And K.C. achieved that despite being in desperate need of more dynamism from its running back room. Chiefs RBs have produced explosive runs of 10-plus yards at the lowest rate in the league in consecutive seasons (4.7% in 2024, 6.5% in 2025). Walker, on the other hand, generated explosive runs on 14.9% of his carries this past season, the second-highest rate among running backs with 150-plus attempts. His top career speed of 22.09 MPH is faster than any mark hit by a Chiefs back on a scrimmage play since at least 2016.”
How Kenneth Walker III Fits With the Chiefs’ Offense
GettyKansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy talks with head coach Andy Reid
Some have criticized the Chiefs for the large contract they handed Walker, for reasons such as coach Andy Reid’s pass-heavy offensive scheme, and Walker not often being a workhorse running back during his career. However, there are easy counters to those points.
With Eric Bieniemy back in Kansas City as offensive coordinator, the Chiefs’ rushing attack should improve both schematically and in volume. Bieniemy is a longtime former running backs coach, and he will get the most out of that phase of the offense.
As far as Walker’s workload, he erased that narrative down the stretch of the 2025 season. During his last six games with the Seattle Seahawks (postseason included), Walker averaged 21 touches per game. That led to an average of 128.5 yards per game and five total touchdowns. He capped it off by winning MVP of Super Bowl LX after racking up 161 total yards on 29 touches.
Walker provides big-play speed that the Chiefs haven’t had in their offense for several years. Defenses will have to respect that, which should open things up for quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the passing game. Next Gen Stats also clocked Walker’s average speed per carry at 13.2 miles per hour in 2025, which was the second-fastest among all running backs.
He crossed the line of scrimmage in an average of 3.19 seconds, the longest of any RB in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016).
#SEAvsNE | #SuperBowlLX
New Chiefs Free Agent Addition Named ‘Perfect Fit’ for Kansas City