Kansas City on the Run: What the Signing of a Super Bowl MVP Could Mean for the Chiefs
The last time the Kansas City Chiefs invested heavily in a running back was when they selected Clyde Edwards-Helaire out of LSU in the first round of the draft in 2020. In 2024, he was waived by the team after a rough ride of injury, limited starting time, and a battle with PTSD. Through those years, while Helaire was sinking lower on the depth chart, the Chiefs opted to run the ball by committee with Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt, Samaje Perine, Brashard Smith, and Carson Steele, with occasional appearances by the first-round pick. In 2025, after a year with the New Orleans Saints, Helaire was re-signed by the Chiefs and ran for just seven yards on thirteen carries.
With the blockbuster signing of Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, the days of running by committee are over at Arrowhead. Walker has reportedly signed a three-year deal worth $43.05 million with $28.7 million fully guaranteed. With a financial commitment like that, it’s clear the Chiefs have put a laser focus on the run game. Not since the days of Jamaal Charles has Kansas City enjoyed a consistent and dynamic rushing attack year after year.
Both Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt are at the end of their contracts in Kansas City, and it seems unlikely they will be re-signed to the team. Pacheco has been plagued with injuries over the past two years, and his production has tanked since his rookie and sophomore campaigns. Hunt was a short-yardage menace in 2025, but the cost for Walker makes his return remote, especially with talented second-year running back Brashard Smith on his rookie contract and the Chiefs needing to spend on other areas of the team. The Chiefs now have their bell-cow running back in Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III. The next step could involve a significant change in the culture of how Kansas City runs its offense. Serious concerns about the team’s struggles running the ball have existed within Chiefs Kingdom for several seasons. The injury to Patrick Mahomes may have been the tipping point for the organization. Keeping their Hall of Fame quarterback upright and healthy must be a priority for the 2026 season and seasons going forward, and that’s where Walker can play a vital role in taking the pressure off Mahomes.
In his 2025 season with Seattle, Walker recorded 1,027 yards on the ground while Hunt, Pacheco, and Bashard recorded 1,224 yards combined. The former accomplished this with 221 carries while Kansas City’s three backs did it collectively with 325. The ex-Seahawk averaged 4.6 yards per carry while no one in Kansas City’s running back room broke 3.9. It looks like Eric Bieniemy has returned at the right time. Chiefs fans were ecstatic over the return of Bieniemy as offensive coordinator, a position he held with the team from 2018 to 2022, but with the addition of Walker, excitement in Kansas City has reached a new level. With the Chiefs’ offense at its most prolific during Bieniemy’s first turn as OC, the expectation is for that kind of production to return and exhaust Arrowhead of fireworks every home game. During his time away from Kansas City, Bieniemy was the offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders, associate head coach and offensive coordinator for UCLA, and running backs coach for the Chicago Bears during the 2025 season. It is this last position that ignites excitement specifically for KC’s rushing attack in 2026.
While in Chicago, Bieniemy coached D’Andre Swift, a six-year veteran, to the most rushing yards of his career at 1,087 and nine touchdowns. Not only that, but he also coached Kyle Monangai, a rookie drafted in the seventh round, to 783 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Between the two Chicago running backs, one of them a rookie, Bieniemy got 1,870 rushing yards out of them with 14 touchdowns. Can he get that kind of production out of Walker and Smith? With his close relationship with Andy Reid, Mahomes, and Travis Kelce, the core of the offense, it is easy to assume that all four of these Super Bowl champions will immediately be on the same page offensively. This professional shorthand will be vital in getting Walker on that page as well.
In 2018, Kareem Hunt, the last glimpse of a bell cow running back Kansas City had, ran for 824 yards through 11 games and averaged 4.6 yards per carry before being released from the team due to off-field misconduct. Bieniemy, a running back in college, was his offensive coordinator. Are the stars aligning for the Chiefs’ offense for the 2026 season and beyond? With multiple legends on that side of the ball with dynastic aspirations, the return of Bieniemy, and the acquisition of a dynamic player who was Super Bowl MVP just last year, it certainly appears that way.
