Kenneth Walker Has Been Incredible, but Emmett Johnson's Time May Be Coming Soon

Through the first four games of the 2026 NFL season, Kansas City Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker has been one of the best players in all of football and is firmly on track to be in the Offensive Player of the Year conversation in his first campaign with the Chiefs.

The only downside of Walker's 2026 so far? He's taken a whopping 99 touches through four games, putting him on pace for 420 touches this season. During his four years with the Seattle Seahawks, Walker recorded 255, 248, 199 and 252 regular season touches, respectively. It's still a compliment to note that Walker has been too dominant to take off the field, but with a long-term view of the Chiefs' season, another back will need to spell Walker at some point.

During the Chiefs' bye week, we'll be taking a closer look at a few key position groups to see how they've stacked up to preseason expectations and where they could improve after the bye. However, for the Chiefs' running backs, "improvement" seems almost impossible.

Walker has been darn near perfect through four games, and his impact on the Chiefs' offense has been remarkably evident. From his ability to be the "easy button" for Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes to his home run-hitting ability out of the backfield, Walker has exceeded even the most optimistic offseason expectations. Now, can the Chiefs keep Walker fresh enough to stay that consistent late into the year?

Outside of Kansas City, rookie fifth-round pick Emmett Johnson may be flying under the radar. He has 16 carries for 56 yards and five catches for 74—not quite enough to be added in most fantasy football leagues. However, Johnson's highlights have been about as impressive as anyone's.

Emmett Johnson has some MOVES 😮‍💨

(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/yEWu90SL7G
— KC Sports Network (@KCSportsNetwork) September 21, 2026

Even while currently standing in Walker's shadow, I'm confident that Johnson would have been the best running back in KC's 2025 backfield, and probably by a large margin.

Emmett Johnson is 1 of 5 RBs with 10+ missed tackles forced (MTFs)

The 4 other RBs have 40+ touches each. Emmett Johnson has 10 MTFs on just 14 touches. Absurd.
— Ron Stewart (@RonStewart_) September 25, 2026

Through four games, Walker has taken 75% of the Chiefs' offensive snaps (196) while Johnson has taken 26% (69). That's the 13th-most offensive snaps on the team for Johnson, and his role should only grow from there.

As long as Johnson is trusted by the coaching staff—and if he wasn't, I don't think the team would have parted ways with Emari Demercado during roster cuts—his workload should increase during the Chiefs' midseason grind as the team tries to spare Walker from a few hits while trying to keep him in top form for a postseason run similar to what he did for the Seahawks en route to his Super Bowl MVP award in February.

Even without significant statistical output so far, Johnson is dynamic enough that Walker can leave the field without allowing opposing defenses to let their guard down on the running game.

The only potential "negative" for the Chiefs' running back room so far would come in the evaluation of second-year seventh-round pick Brashard Smith. (Even then, "negative" is probably too strong.) Smith has taken only six offensive snaps this season, catching one pass but taking zero carries.

The optimistic case for Smith is that he's firmly behind one superstar back and one extremely promising rookie. On the other hand, Smith saw the field sparingly last season, recording just 44 carries (with 26 coming in the team's two games against the Las Vegas Raiders) in 2025. Smith's speed is still a unique enough trait that he should be worth keeping an eye on as the season unfolds, but he's more of a special teamer and injury insurance until further notice.

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