NFL: Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs
NFL: Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs may have found the perfect RB1 complement for Patrick Mahomes in Kenneth Walker III. Just as former fan favorite Isiah Pacheco has been hit with a brutal injury diagnosis in his first season with the Detroit Lions.
Walker’s Kansas City debut couldn’t have gone much better. The reigning Super Bowl MVP, who inked a three-year deal with the Chiefs this offseason, immediately showed why KC made the move. He ripped off two runs of 20-plus yards in the Week 1 win, already doubling the Chiefs’ total of 20-plus-yard runs by a running back from the entire 2025 season.
And just like that, Walker has Chiefs Kingdom buzzing. While Pacheco is suddenly becoming an afterthought.
Kenneth Walker Already Has the Chiefs Forgetting Isiah Pacheco
NFL: Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs
Sep 20, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III (9) makes a catch against the Indianapolis Colts during the fourth quarter at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
The Chiefs made the tough call to move on from Pacheco this spring, then opened up the checkbook to bring Walker into the fold, handing him a three-year deal worth more than $43 million. And so far, Kansas City has zero reason to second-guess the move. Walker put on a show in the Chiefs’ 31-10 win over the Denver Broncos, racking up a career-high 191 total yards—including 173 on the ground—and punching in two total touchdowns. The monster outing earned him AFC Player of the Week honors, making Walker the first Chief to win the award since Patrick Mahomes did it in Week 6 of the 2025 season.
That’s quite the way to introduce yourself to Chiefs Kingdom.
Pacheco, meanwhile, leaves Kansas City with a résumé that’s tough to overlook. Across 51 games and 42 starts, he piled up 2,537 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns, adding 88 catches for 554 yards and three more scores. He also helped the Chiefs capture rings in each of his first two seasons and was part of three straight Super Bowl runs from 2022 through 2024.
But Walker wasted no time showing Kansas City what it had been missing. According to PFF, he forced 14 missed tackles against Denver in Week 1—that’s one more than Pacheco recorded for the Chiefs during the entire 2025 season. His 173 rushing yards were also the most by a Chiefs running back in the Patrick Mahomes era and the most by a Kansas City back since Jamaal Charles exploded for 226 yards in Week 16 of the 2012 season.
Kenneth Walker forced 14 missed tackles in Week 1, per @PFF.
That's more than Isiah Pacheco forced in ALL OF 2025 (13). pic.twitter.com/71fFRoBmDS
— Underdog (@Underdog) September 15, 2026
For Pacheco, the start to his Detroit chapter has been anything but smooth.
The 27-year-old underwent back surgery, with ESPN’s Eric Woodyard reporting on September 14 that the procedure is expected to sideline him for 12 weeks. Pacheco signed a one-year, $1.8 million deal with the Lions this offseason after spending the first four years of his career in Kansas City. Detroit brought Pacheco in as a replacement for David Montgomery, who was shipped to the Houston Texans during the offseason. He was expected to provide depth behind star running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who landed the richest contract ever for an NFL running back over the summer.
Instead, Pacheco now faces a lengthy stint on the shelf and won’t be back until December at the earliest—assuming his recovery stays on track.
Meanwhile, Walker has already given Chiefs fans plenty to get excited about. Whether he can keep this ridiculous pace going over the next few weeks remains to be seen, but his early explosion suggests Kansas City may have landed one of its most impactful offseason additions in recent memory.