On Monday, the Kansas City Chiefs and free-agent running back Kenneth Walker agreed to a three-year contract worth up to $45 million. Walker was the Super Bowl MVP for the Seattle Seahawks last season, capping off a great showing in the playoffs. He has two seasons with over 1,000 rushing yards. Walker brings a level of dynamism and speed that the Chiefs haven’t had in years.
When you sign a player like Walker with that contract, it signals that Kansas City prioritized having this skillset, and it can
change the offensive scheme.
Let’s dive into some of the impacts that adding Walker can have on the team.
1. Bringing back the screen game
Walker is interesting to evaluate as a receiving back. He has reliable hands and can run a functional route tree, but he’s not great in pass protection. Because of this, it was difficult for the Seahawks to play Walker on obvious passing downs, since teams would blitz a second-level defender to make Walker stay in protection and identify the right blitzer.
There’s a chance that being coached by offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy will help in pass protection. Regardless of that, however, Walker could shine in the screen game. When exploring options at running back, it’s easy to imagine head coach Andy Reid getting excited about Walker in the screen game.
Walker’s speed and juking ability make him deadly in open space. Pair that with Reid’s designs and the Chiefs’ athleticism on the offensive line, and it’s fair to expect multiple explosive plays off screens next season.
2. More under-center runs
Kansas City’s run scheme has gotten stale over the past few years. The heavy usage of run-pass options affects how the run scheme works. RPOs are almost always in the shotgun, since it requires the quarterback to get rid of the ball quickly. Route concepts have to be shorter for the timing to work. Offensive linemen aren’t allowed to block downhill since there is a risk of a pass.
RPOs aren’t inherently bad, especially with quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ arm angles and Reid’s designs. However, it hurt the Chiefs’ ability to establish a physical run game outside of short yardage.
Having Walker in the fold might change that. In Seattle, Walker experienced seldom usage of RPOs. Instead, that offense used more under-center runs with play action off of it. The threat of the downfield pass causes defenders to slow down, making run blocking easier on a called run.
Walker’s running style is to press the line of scrimmage and make a read from there. He will either cut it up through the middle or bounce it to the edge. That style is a more natural fit from under center. He gets more room to probe defenders and make a decision.
Walker isn’t the best at trusting and following his blocks, which is required in a shotgun-run scheme. Shotgun runs tend to be more lateral than downhill, which could be tricky for Walker.
The Chiefs’ offensive line is suited for any run scheme, but it’s intriguing to envision what the group can do with more power runs. When you have the interior offensive line that the Chiefs have, you should be running more of those concepts. Those runs are easier to get to under center and fit the style that Walker is best in. By signing Walker, Reid is potentially committing to a more traditional run game, which will do wonders for Kansas City.
3. Getting Walker going on the edge
Walker is a running back who loves to bounce runs to the edge. Even if the run is intended to hit inside, Walker likes to take any opportunity to bounce and try to get the angle to the edge.
The Chiefs should lean into this. I would love to see the Chiefs use more pin-pull or toss runs to get Walker to the edge. There are multiple ways to run pin-pull, but here’s an example of what that could look like:
The Chiefs’ offensive line affords advantages. They have some of the most athletic linemen in space in the NFL between left tackle Josh Simmons and center Creed Humphrey. Left guard Kingsley Suamataia and right guard Trey Smith are also good in space, but could be dominant pinning and sealing defensive tackles inside one-on-one. This run scheme would boost the offense.
The one thing the Chiefs do need is either a blocking tight end or receiver. A perimeter player needs to be able to crack a defensive end inside to cut off the edge. The Chiefs don’t have that on the roster currently, so look for the front office to acquire someone who can help in blocking. Besides that, the offense has everything else set up to call more perimeter runs.
4. Eric Bieniemy’s impact on Walker
The signing of Walker can naturally make one’s mind go to offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. Bieniemy was the running backs coach with the Chicago Bears last year, a team that deployed one of the best run games in the NFL despite not having a star in the backfield. Head coach Ben Johnson deserves credit for a strong scheme, and the offensive line is of high quality.
However, Chicago’s two main running backs — D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai — also played above expectations. Swift, in particular, had the best season of his career. Swift was right under five yards a carry and had nine touchdowns. Swift was always dynamic in open space, but had inconsistent vision that frustrated teams. Last season, his vision got significantly better, and he was more functional between the tackles.
