5 stats that prove Kenneth Walker III is difference-maker Chiefs' offense needed image
A slew of running backs received new contracts this summer, from Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson to Jonathan Taylor, so the one who joined a new team back in Mach could have easily been overlooked.
Kenneth Walker III is overlooked no more.
The Super Bowl MVP got off to a brilliant start in his Chiefs debut on Monday, putting together the kind of performance that just hasn't been customary in Kansas City in recent years.
Here are five stats from Monday night's game that prove Walker is a massive difference-maker for the Chiefs.
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60-yard touchdown vs. Chiefs' 2025 running backs
Walker already had 89 yards when be broke free for a 60-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1. That run, it turns out, was more productive than almost every full-game performance by a Chiefs running back last season.
The Chiefs saw a running back top 60 yards in a game only once last season — a 104-yard outburst from Kareem Hunt in an overtime win over the Colts.
Walker's 60-yard run alone gave him a more productive rushing performance than than every other Chiefs running back in any full game from 2025, and by pushing him to 149 yards, it gave him the most productive game by a Chiefs running back in terms of rushing yards since Clyde Edwards-Helaire in 2020.
Missed tackles
Walker forced nine missed tackles in the first half, according to Next Gen Stats, the most by any Chiefs running back in a full game since 2021.
Kansas City's strong interior offensive line certainly helps, but that goes to show Walker's career night isn't just the product of the talent around him.
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Production under center
Walker changed the Chiefs' offense in one clear way: he operated under center, to plenty of success, in a way that no Kansas City running back has in recent years. With 127 yards under center following his touchdown run, Walker was already ahead of every Chiefs running back's single-game mark in the last decade:
21.21 mph top speed
Walker added an element of speed that has been missing from the Chiefs' backfield, hitting 21.21 mph on his 60-yard touchdown run. According to Next Gen Stats, that's the third-fastest top speed of his career.
Long runs
Long runs from Chiefs running backs just haven't been a common sight in recent years, but Walker changed that on Monday night. After Chiefs running backs only twice ran for at least 25 yards on a play last season, Walker rattled off two such runs.
Walker's 60-yard run was the longest by a Chiefs running back since 2019.