Chiefs' Duo of Kenneth Walker III, Kahlil Benson Takes Home September Hardware

Through the first three weeks of the 2026 NFL season, the Kansas City Chiefs have watched numerous players step up to the challenge and deliver results. The team is off to a 3-0 start thanks to the machine more than its parts, although two key cogs are being recognized entering Week 4.

Ahead of Sunday's game against the Las Vegas Raiders, running back Kenneth Walker and tackle Kahlil Benson have some new accolades. Walker is the AFC Offensive Player of the Month for September, with Benson joining him as the Offensive Rookie of the Month in the process.

It's fitting, in a way, as (per NFL Pro) Walker has directed a whopping 72.3% of his rushing attempts to the left side of the offensive line.

Kenneth Walker III Named AFC Offensive Player of the Month

AFC Players of the Month! (September) pic.twitter.com/Q4hcqAlwZf
— NFL (@NFL) October 1, 2026

To say September was kind to Walker would be doing him a major disservice. The prized offseason free agent signing was downright dominant in his first three games as a Chief, racking up 360 rushing yards on 65 carries (5.5 yards per try) and notching four all-purpose touchdowns. Despite the volume uptick, his 53.8% rush success rate is easily the best of his career, as is his mark of 5.8 yards per touch.

More advanced data continues to paint a healthy picture of Walker's production. A whopping 3.5 of his yards on a per-carry basis are coming after contact, which is nearly double his career average of 1.9. Moreover, he's pacing to shatter his previous personal best for broken tackles. At the conclusion of Week 3's win over the Miami Dolphins, he was the only player to force 10 or more missed tackles in a game. He's done so every week so far.

Walker's presence has forced opposing defenses to respect the Kansas City rushing attack for one of the only times in the quarterback Patrick Mahomes era, also having a positive impact on revitalizing the play-action game on offense.

Kansas City's RB1 is the first member of the team to be named AFC Offensive Player of the Month since Mahomes himself in November of 2022.

Kahlil Benson Earns Offensive Rookie of the Month Honors

Not a bad start to your NFL career 👏

Congratulations to @BensonKahlil on being named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month! pic.twitter.com/Cse3RrRZ2X
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) October 1, 2026

This marks a big-time moment for Benson, who signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent out of Indiana but quickly generated a ton of buzz throughout the offseason program. That parlayed itself into first-team reps during training camp and the preseason, but he wound up taking over for injured left tackle Josh Simmons instead of stealing Jaylon Moore's job on the right side.

According to Pro Football Focus, Benson has had 110 opportunities in pass protection and surrendered nine pressures and five quarterback hits. Week 3 was undoubtedly his worst showing to date, so the onus is on for him to prove that was more of a blip on the radar than anything else. A matchup against a feisty Raiders pass rush figures to be a true test.

Head coach Andy Reid recently praised Benson for the job he's done with a stronger start than many on the outside anticipated.

“Yeah, listen, he's done a nice job," Reid said. "We're early in it, and he's one of the young guys. But for what we're asking him to do, he's done a heck of a job. And every week's a new week, and the more people are able to study him, then you're going to get different looks, and you’ve got to be able to answer that. When you're new in the league, that's what you get, and so how you handle that is important.”

Benson is the first Chief to be named Offensive Rookie of the Month since running back Kareem Hunt in 2017. Linebacker Nick Bolton (2021) was the most recent Kansas City player to earn any sort of Rookie of the Month honor.

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