Inarguably, the biggest move of the Kansas City Chiefs' 2026 offseason thus far was bringing in running back Kenneth Walker. The playmaker is coming off a Super Bowl MVP performance and has given Kansas City fans every reason to believe that the team's lack of offensive balance is going to be a thing of the past. However, fans didn't have to wait long for a new concern to arise within the Kansas City backfield, with The Athletic's Jesse Newell reporting a very concerning sentiment from Andy Reid.
""Chiefs coach Andy Reid says RB Kenneth Walker III worked a lot two years ago out of shotgun and last year primarily under center. Says his stats were good in both. Reid says Chiefs feel like they have an RB who can be effective in either setting.""Jesse Newell
While on the surface this might be true, it ignores several things that have left Kansas City fans in a bit of an uproar. The first and most important is that the Chiefs paid Walker based on a season in which only 18 percent of the back's rushing attempts came from a shotgun formation. Reid's comment isn't accurate either, as Walker averaged 3.7 yards per carry in an injury-shortened 2024 season while surpassing 1,000 rushing yards and averaging 4.6 yards per carry in 2025.
Everything about Walker's recent career screams that the Chiefs must be willing to adjust and not run the same predictable shotgun offense. Best utilizing Walker involved the willingness to put Patrick Mahomes under center and hand the ball off consistently in this formation.
Andy Reid Giving KC Fans Every Reason for Alarm with Recent Comments
The Chiefs ran just 20 percent of their offensive plays under center in the 2025 season, a move that clearly hurt the rushing attack. No rusher in Reid's system provided any semblance of reliable production to take pressure off Mahomes, demanding that Kansas City make needed adjustments. The first part of this has been accomplished with the Chiefs bringing in Walker and adding a playmaker capable of carrying a heavy load.
However, the second piece of this is Reid not being stubbornly stuck in his ways and being willing to adjust to what gives the Chiefs the best chance to win. A large part of the offensive struggles over the past two seasons can be attributed to Reid refusing to make any adjustments and simply sticking with the status quo, pressing on with the false belief that things will change.
This is evidence yet again that the coach is in the wrong mindset and has fans understandably upset that the discussion around Walker has raised questions about whether he is being put in the best possible position to succeed. With that said, there is still hope that Eric Bieniemy's return will help force Reid out of this line of thinking and make the coach more willing to make the obvious adjustments.
Among these are being willing to run the ball from under center and utilize Walker in the exact ways the Seattle offense did en route to their Super Bowl win. Any other decision would be alarming and give fans reasons to wonder if Reid's leadership is starting to grow stale. It is a simple adjustment that the Chiefs cannot afford not to make if they want to get the most out of their new playmaker.