Here’s Moment Chiefs Knew They Needed Walker

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Chiefs knew they weren’t getting a certain player at No. 9, so they knew they needed to go get No. 9.

No. 9 as in the uniform number of Kenneth Walker.

When Jeremiyah Love posted a 4.36 in the 40 at Lucas Oil Stadium two weeks ago, the Chiefs knew there’s no way the Notre Dame running back will fall to them on April 23. Landing Walker in the first few minutes of free agency on Monday was a prediction that another team would draft Walker long before the Chiefs were on the clock with the ninth-overall choice.

The Saints, who have the No. 8 selection, signed free agent Travis Etienne largely for the same reason. New Orleans doesn’t see Love getting to 8, either. Analyst Warren Sharp believes the addition will benefit the Chiefs both on the field and at the bank.

Chiefs did homework in structuring Walker's contract

“If you look at his contract,” Sharp said on Tuesday’s episode of the Sharp Football Show, “he's right below Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley; Barkley and CMC are way up there.

“Then, he's only a million more than currently what the Saints have Alvin Kamara signed for. James Cook, Josh Jacobs, Kyren Williams, like in that neighborhood, just a little bit higher than that. So, I don't think he's being overpaid. I don't think it was a massive overpay by the Kansas City Chiefs to bring him in.”

Chiefs share dubious streak with Saints

Kamara was the Saints’ leading rusher in 2025, with 471 yards. Kansas City’s leading ground-gainer was Kareem Hunt (611). Incidentally, New Orleans and Kansas City share the league’s longest active streaks without a 1,000-yard rusher (eight years, 2018-25). Patrick Mahomes has never had a 1,000-yard rusher during his career as a full-time starter.

Breece Hall cleared 1,000 in 2025 to break the Jets’ streak (10 years, 2015-24). Kamara had just 471. Denver is next at six years (last, Phillip Lindsay in 2019).

No wonder Sharp used two interesting F-words to predict how Walker will change the Chiefs’ offensive outlook.

“The fit, I think, is going to be really fun,” Sharp said, “especially if you look at that running-back room for the Chiefs last year with Isiah Pacheco, who just went to Detroit.

“Statistically, Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco were one of the worst backfields in the NFL last year.”

Sharp said Pacheco is the exact inverse of Pacheco. Among 49 qualifying backs with 100-or-more carries in 2025, Pacheco ranked 46th in explosive-run rate, 47th in success rate and No. 47 in longest carry (16 yards) – all of that against some of the lightest boxes (fewer defenders near the line of scrimmage) in the league.

“Kenneth Walker faced the No. 4-highest rate of stacked boxes,” Sharp said, “because the Seattle Seahawks run the football a lot, and they do so from some heavier personnel groupings, which encourages defenses to stack the box.”