When the Kansas City Chiefs selected quarterback Patrick Mahomes with the 10th pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, he watched an offense capable of hosting the NFL’s leading rusher in rookie Kareem Hunt (1,327 yards). When he took the reins in 2018, that offense was gone.
Coaches molded it to fit Mahomes, the shotgun gunslinger from Texas Tech, and his All-Pro weapons: wide receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce. Head coach Andy Reid’s West Coast system, now married to Mahomes’ spread-offense tendencies,
immediately produced an MVP campaign.
Eight years later, the offense is not built around the two-time MVP and three-time Super Bowl champion signal caller. Mahomes captains a unit led by running back Kenneth Walker, the league’s current rushing leader (655 yards), who is on pace for over 2,200 rushing yards by season’s end.
The offense’s evolution feels like it happened over one offseason, but it’s been a couple of years in the making. Andy Reid discussed Mahomes’ growth into under-center looks during a video call with local media on Monday.
“He came from a primarily shotgun offense,” Reid reflected. “We started slowly getting him used to going under center, then he took to it. He just took it a couple of years ago.”
This season, the Chiefs have run 121 under-center plays, averaging roughly 24 snaps per game in such formations. In 2025, Kansas City averaged 11.5 under-center plays per game.
Reid added that Mahomes told the coaching staff he liked under-center plays and wanted to mix them in. However, it may have taken the addition of Walker — and the return of offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy — for the offensive identity to make what feels like a necessary shift in retrospect.
“He felt really easy with that,” Reid remembered. “It’s worked out well. This year, with the running back situation we’ve got, I think those guys are very good from that home alignment there when Pat’s under.”
Not only do the Chiefs lead the NFL in rushing yards per attempt (5.5) this season, but no team has averaged more total yards per game than Kansas City. Out of the bye week, the team put up a season-high 422 yards. Even with injuries at wide receiver, the new-look Chiefs offense has kept things rolling.
