Pinpointing the Two Biggest Surprises of the Chiefs' Season Thus Far

It takes quite a while for an NFL team to establish an identity. The Kansas City Chiefs are no different, but head coach Andy Reid's crew is trying its best to expedite the process.

One of the beautiful things about the regular season is it either confirms folks' priors or catches them by surprise. Coming into the year, most anticipated that there wouldn't be significant changes to the offense and the defense would experience growing pains in bunches. The opposite has occurred through two weeks, however, which is about the best news Kansas City could've hoped for.

What are two of the biggest surprises from the first two weeks of the season? Tucker Franklin and BJ Kissel discussed that and more on a September episode of the 21 Questions podcast on KC Sports Network.

Kansas City isn't shying away from feeding Kenneth Walker III

The most outstanding development for the Chiefs through two weeks has been running back Kenneth Walker III blossoming into a full-fledged star. With that said, it's the reigning Super Bowl MVP's usage that's truly shocked the football world — particularly those in Kansas City circles.

Walker has a whopping 47 rushing attempts in Weeks 1 and 2 combined, good for 23.5 per game. His season-long career high is 15.2 in his rookie campaign with the Seattle Seahawks, so we're already in uncharted territory here. This is without even considering that Walker averaged only 1.8 receptions each week during that season; he's at 4.5 heading into Week 3.

According to Pro Football Focus, Walker's notching 5.17 yards after contact per attempt and has forced 23 missed tackles. Reid opting for a running back-centric offense always seemed like a nice idea in theory, but seeing it in action makes it even more impressive.

Running backs coach DeMarco Murray recently weighed in on balancing Walker's workload with potentially wanting to give rookie Emmett Johnson some more reps.

“I know he probably wants to be in every play, but just making sure you manage that load, but then at the same time knowing that Emmett's there and he can come in as well," Murray began. "I think that all comes back to his work ethic. He's prepared himself for this since spring and since camp. And coach Reid puts a great camp together, and the long-drive drills have been legendary around here.

"But, again, Kenneth has done a great job at getting himself in shape and, knowing that, hey, obviously we need you in the first quarter, first half and whatnot, but we're going to need you in the third and fourth as well. So we pride ourselves on obviously finishing strong just as much as we start the game. He's put himself in a great position with his work ethic to carry the load. He's a running back, so he likes the ball a lot, and I like giving it to him.”

The young Chiefs defense has already flashed its upside

In a busy offseason for general manager Brett Veach, a lot of his work was done on the defensive side of the ball. Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's collective got a makeover in the spring by way of a youth movement both up front and in the secondary.

Along the defensive line, first-round tackle Peter Woods and second-round edge rusher R Mason Thomas are already flashing their athletic traits and finding ways to get on the field early. In the back end of the defense, first-round cornerback Mansoor Delane has played just a handful of snaps due to a shoulder injury but recorded an interception on his lone NFL drive to date. That's one way to make an efficient impact.

Much was made of how young and inexperienced this defense would be coming out of the gate, potentially coming along with excessive mistakes. Given the veteran leadership surrounding these pieces, though, that's largely been mitigated. Ironically, it's well-seasoned players like cornerback L'Jarius Sneed who've struggled at times.

Prior to kickoff on Sunday, the Chiefs will rank ninth in EPA per play allowed on defense (per SumerSports) and eighth in success rate. Facing teams like the Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers over the next three games could pad those numbers even more before KC clashes with Walker's former team in Seattle.

There have been some bumps to slow down for, although not many true roadblocks to this point.

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