The Kansas City Chiefs did not simply tweak their running back room this offseason. They performed a necessary and aggressive overhaul after one of the most disappointing group performances in recent franchise history. In 2025, the Chiefs’ backfield ranked among the least explosive and least reliable units in the entire NFL, placing an unsustainable burden on Patrick Mahomes to create big plays through the air and limiting the offense’s ability to control games on the ground. That reality forced difficult conversations inside the organization and led to a complete reset that includes a proven lead back in Kenneth Walker and a high-upside rookie in fifth-round pick Emmett Johnson from Nebraska. While Walker is expected to serve as the primary ball carrier, it is Johnson’s unique combination of vision, patience, and lateral agility that has many inside the building believing the long-term future of the position may already be on the roster.
Last season’s running back struggles were not merely statistical disappointments. They fundamentally altered how the Chiefs had to operate on offense. Without a reliable, explosive option between the tackles or in space, the ground game became predictable and easy to defend. Mahomes was forced into more difficult downfield throws and hero-ball situations because the run game could not consistently move the chains or create play-action opportunities. Players like Isaiah Pacheco, who had been part of back-to-back Super Bowl-winning teams, saw their production and explosiveness decline. Kareem Hunt was brought off the couch and performed admirably in a complementary role, but he lacked the burst and lateral quickness needed to consistently threaten defenses on the perimeter. The result was an offense that felt one-dimensional at times and placed far too much pressure on the quarterback to manufacture production week after week.
The Chiefs responded with purpose. They signed Kenneth Walker, a back with proven big-play ability and the physical profile to serve as a workhorse when healthy. They retained Amari Demercado as the primary third-down and pass-protection specialist. And in the fifth round of the draft, they selected Emmett Johnson, a player whose college production at Nebraska told one story while his athletic testing and frame told another. Johnson rushed for nearly 1,400 yards at nearly six yards per carry and scored 15 touchdowns while also contributing nearly 400 receiving yards on a high volume of catches. Those numbers reflected a bell-cow role in college, yet he slid to the fifth round because evaluators questioned his thin frame, average top-end speed, and lack of elite breakaway ability compared to some of the more physically gifted backs in the class.
What the tape reveals, however, is a player whose football intelligence and processing speed allow him to play faster than his athletic testing suggests. Johnson possesses outstanding vision and patience, two traits that have become increasingly rare at the position in an era that often prioritizes raw explosiveness over decision-making. He shows the ability to press gaps, set up blockers by forcing defenders to shade one way before cutting back inside, and hop laterally to find creases that less patient runners would miss. His lateral agility stands out in space, where he can make defenders miss in ways that neither Pacheco nor Hunt consistently demonstrated last season. These are the kinds of traits that translate well to outside-zone and gap schemes and that can create chunk plays even when the blocking is not perfect.
The Chiefs are not asking Johnson to be an every-down back immediately. Kenneth Walker is expected to handle the majority of early-down and between-the-tackles work, though his own injury history suggests the team will manage his workload carefully rather than giving him 80 percent or more of the snaps. Johnson is projected to carve out a significant complementary role, potentially seeing 150 or more snaps as a rookie with opportunities to grow into a larger share as the season progresses. His receiving skills from college are expected to translate, giving the Chiefs a legitimate option on third downs and in the passing game who can create mismatches against linebackers and safeties. Demercado is likely to retain the early third-down role because of his proven pass protection, but Johnson’s development in that area will be closely monitored as a key checkpoint for increased playing time.
What makes Johnson particularly intriguing is how his skill set addresses specific deficiencies from last season. The previous group lacked consistent lateral quickness and the ability to make defenders miss in space. Johnson’s tape shows a runner who can set up blocks, press the line of scrimmage to force reactions, and then cut decisively to daylight. These are the traits of a back who can turn four-yard gains into eight or ten and who can create explosive plays even when the offensive line does not perfectly execute. In a scheme that emphasizes outside zone principles, his footwork and patience could allow him to maximize the work of the offensive line while also providing a change-of-pace element that keeps defenses honest.
The broader context of the Chiefs’ 2026 offense only increases the importance of this backfield reset. With Patrick Mahomes returning from his knee injury, the team is expected to operate at a high level through the air. However, a more dynamic and reliable running game would reduce the need for Mahomes to carry an outsized burden and would restore the play-action and boot-action elements that have historically made the offense so difficult to defend. A back who can consistently gain the tough yards, protect in pass situations, and contribute as a receiver gives the coaching staff more flexibility in game planning and personnel groupings. Johnson’s profile suggests he can be that player sooner rather than later, even if his role begins modestly.
There are still questions that will be answered in training camp and the early weeks of the season. Johnson must prove he can hold up physically against NFL linebackers and defensive linemen, particularly in pass protection where the jump from the Big Ten to the professional level can be steep. His relatively thin frame raises long-term durability questions, though his college production suggests he has the toughness and ball security to handle a significant workload. The coaching staff will also need to find the right balance between developing Johnson and ensuring Walker remains fresh and effective as the lead back. Early touches will likely be used as developmental checkpoints rather than a full workload, with the expectation that his snap count grows as he proves he can handle the physical and mental demands of the NFL.
For Chiefs Kingdom, the addition of Johnson represents more than just another draft pick. It represents hope that the ground game can once again become a strength rather than a liability. Last season’s failures were too glaring to ignore, and the organization responded by investing both draft capital and free-agency resources into fixing the position. Walker brings the proven production and big-play threat. Johnson brings the vision, patience, and receiving ability that could make the room more than the sum of its parts. Together with Demercado’s third-down expertise, the Chiefs have constructed a backfield with complementary strengths designed to create the consistent explosiveness and balance that has been missing.
The future of the Chiefs backfield may very well rest on how quickly Emmett Johnson can translate his college traits to the professional level. His vision and decisiveness give him a chance to contribute immediately in a complementary role, while his athletic profile and skill set suggest long-term upside as a featured back if he continues to develop. After a season in which the running game failed to support the offense and placed too much pressure on Mahomes, this overhaul offers a clear path forward. The question is no longer whether the position needed fixing. It is whether the player the Chiefs selected in the fifth round can become the answer they have been searching for. Training camp will provide the first real answers, but the tape and the traits suggest that Emmett Johnson has a legitimate opportunity to shape the identity of this offense for years to come.
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