Vance Joseph Sees Chiefs' New Weapon as a 'Problem' for Broncos

The Denver Broncos anticipate seeing some unscouted looks from the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night.

That's to be expected in any Week 1 matchup, including against a familiar division rival seen twice per year. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid always has few tricks up his sleeve, and he recently reunited with Eric Bieniemy as offensive coordinator.

Throw in the experience and savvy of Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, and the Broncos know they'll have to deal with looks that haven't been seen on film. All Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph can ask of his unit is that each man plays clean and disciplined for 60 minutes, which will allow him to adjust and counterpunch those unscouted looks.

Compounding the task is the Chiefs' big offseason addition — running back Kenneth Walker III. The Chiefs signed the reigning Super Bowl MVP, hoping to give Patrick Mahomes the first 1,000-yard rusher of his career.

Kareem Hunt produced 1,327 rushing yards in 2017, but that was Mahomes's rookie year when Alex Smith was still the starter. Walker has cracked the 1,000-yard milestone twice over his four-year career, including last year in Seattle.

However, Joseph knows that Walker's rushing prowess is a force to be reckoned with. In a Reid system coordinated by Bieniemy, the Broncos' defensive coordinator can likely envision many ways the Chiefs could deploy their new weapon, but it starts on the ground.

"Well, he brings a run-first mentality," Joseph said of Walker on Friday. "He can obviously get the tough runs for four yards, five yards, but he has the ability also to take it 60, to hit a home run, and that makes backs dangerous. I don’t worry about the backs that can get four yards and, one-on-one tackle, you can trip them up. But this guy is not that way."

How Walker Wins

Kenneth Walker III rushes in the preseason. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Getting back to playing clean, the Broncos always have to bring their A-game and tackle well. That's true every week, but it's especially crucial against an opponent like the Chiefs, whose speed on offense is predicated around high-percentage completions or runs designed to make one tackler miss, and then capitalize on the yards after contact.

Walker is difficult to bring down on first contact, but the Broncos will have to find a way to get it done. And there's a lot more to corralling Walker; he presents extreme problems if he's allowed to get in space.

"He can get the tough four, he can run through arm tackles, but he can also make you miss and go 60," Joseph said of Walker. "And the Chiefs have always been a great screen team. So this guy in space is a problem. If he gets in the secondary versus your DBs, he can break tackles. So having a plan for him is obviously important for us."

Joseph's Broncos have faced Walker just once — back in the 2024 season opener against the Seattle Seahawks. That was Bo Nix's first-ever start, and the Seahawks leaned on Walker, feeding him 20 carries against the Broncos.

Walker turned those carries into 103 yards and a rushing touchdown. The Seahawks never used him much as a receiver out of the backfield, but he also caught two passes against Denver.

Signed For a Reason

Joseph recalls that game, and the Broncos have surely studied the cut-ups just to reacquaint the players with the unique threat Walker poses. And considering the nearly $15 million per year the Chiefs are paying Walker, Joseph knows that Reid is looking to use him and get a return on that investment, especially with Mahomes coming back from a multi-ligament knee injury.

"They signed him for a reason. They want to get back to run-first, and that obviously makes your play-action pass game a lot better," Joseph said of Walker. "They want to take deep shots, but to do that, they’ve got to draw the backers up and the safeties sometimes, and he does that for them. So it was a perfect fit for that offense."

The Broncos were purportedly interested in signing Walker, but when the market for his services exceeded $14 million annually, they bowed out, and opted to re-sign J.K. Dobbins to a two-year, $16 million deal. When healthy, Dobbins is a top-five running back in the NFL, and even though they just gave him a 4x raise, he's costing them a little bit more than half of Walker's cost to the Chiefs.

Last year, the Broncos finished with the second-ranked rushing defense, allowing just 91.1 yards per game on the ground. Meanwhile, the Chiefs ranked 25th in rushing last season, averaging just 106.6 yards per game.

With Walker in the fold, the Chiefs want to crack the top-10. But the Broncos are a tough task for any running back.

The only starter the Broncos lost was defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers, and his replacements — Malcolm Roach and Eyioma Uwazurike — are significantly better run defenders, though it remains to be seen whether they an duplicate his pass-rushing production.

The Takeaway

Stopping Walker will be a key to victory for the Broncos. If he's allowed to get cooking, the Chiefs will be able to keep the chains moving and truly capitalize in the play-action game.

The Broncos can't allow that to happen. The Chiefs will certainly try, though, especially because they want to insulate Mahomes and take some pressure off his comeback.

If the Broncos can bottle up Walker, you've got to feel confident about their chances at walking into Arrowhead Stadium, and beating Mahomes and the Chiefs in their house for the first time ever. Denver won at Arrowhead late last season, but Mahomes was sidelined with his knee injury.

The Broncos have all the motivation and incentive they need in this one.

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