The Kansas City Chiefs medical staff walked slowly as Patrick Mahomes was helped, limping off the field, the Arrowhead crowd watching the failed season come to a culmination. The 2025 season was one to forget, as the Chiefs missed the playoffs for the first time in ten years. Led by Andy Reid and Mahomes, the Chiefs had appeared in seven straight AFC Championships, making it to five Super Bowls, and winning three of them – A Dynasty. Following a loss to the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX and a losing season in 2025, is the dynasty over? Is Chiefs Kingdom collapsing? Can a Kenneth Walker Chiefs marriage right the ship?
Rewind the clocks to Week 1, 2008, Kansas City at New England. The Patriots, the league’s newest dynasty, were coming off their heartbreaking loss to the Giants on their undefeated season attempt and looking to run it back again. Tom Brady dropped back to pass, hitting Randy Moss for 28 yards, just as Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard dove into Brady’s knee, tearing his ACL.
To many, it appeared the dynasty was over, but Brady and the Patriots were not done yet. Returning in 2009, New England would go on an unprecedented reign over the NFL, appearing in 5 more Super Bowls and winning three of them. The evil empire ruled for a twenty-year span, something the NFL had never seen before. Now, Kansas City faces similar circumstances.
The biggest concern with the Chiefs is not the Super Bowl loss to the Eagles, the bad season, or even the Mahomes injury. The dynasty is in peril due to a downward trend in the play of Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense. Reid is perhaps the greatest offensive coach of all time and has been the greatest reason for the Chiefs’ success. Contrary to popular belief, over the last few seasons, the offense has struggled.
Since 2022, Mahomes’ deep ball completion percentage, yards passing per season, TD passes, and Chiefs PPG have all dropped each year. Defense has become the reason the Chiefs have stayed in games late into the 4th quarter, time and again.
Of course, there are many contributing factors to this seeming fall. Tyreek Hill, one of the most explosive players of all-time, left to join the Dolphins. Mahomes’ security blanket, Travis Kelce, has gotten older. Injuries have decimated the offensive line, receivers, and running backs, leaving Mahomes to create magic without a supporting cast.
To inject fresh life into the offense this offseason, Reid and the front office are hoping for a major boost by signing free-agent and Super Bowl MVP running back Kenneth Walker III from the Seahawks, with multiple reports highlighting the Chiefs as an “interesting suitor” for the explosive, Super Bowl MVP back.
A Kenneth Walker Chiefs Pairing Could Be Just What The Doctor Ordered
Walker is coming off an exceptionally strong season and an even stronger playoffs, culminating in a Super Bowl MVP. At 5’9” and 211 lbs., Walker has the perfect mix of elusive footwork and explosion when hitting the hole, all while running through defenders. One of the best examples of his skill set was his 30-yard run, early in the second quarter of the Super Bowl. Walker hesitated as the Patriots penetrated into the backfield, bounced left, and hit the jets, all while breaking two tackles.
This is the type of workhorse, downhill, every-down back that the Chiefs need to get back atop the AFC. The road to the Super Bowl in the AFC is loaded with frigid, cold-weather football. In these types of gritty, bad-condition games, having the ability to take pressure off of Mahomes, protecting him from his constant heroics at the detriment of his health, and sustaining long drives is vital.
The AFC also has some of the top defenses in the Texans, Broncos, Chargers, and Patriots. The Chiefs can no longer afford to be one-dimensional and let the defenses pin their ears back and get after the quarterback.
Can Walker be that guy, the guy who can help get Chiefs Nation back to its dynastic glory? Can Reid break his stereotype of pushing a high pass offense and abandoning the run early? Football is a team sport, and while no single player (maybe outside of Josh Allen) can take an entire game on their own shoulders with no help, Walker would definitely fill a void in the Kansas City offense. One thing is certain: the Chiefs need more weapons on offense if they are going to compete for another Andy Reid-Patrick Mahomes Super Bowl.
