Kenneth Walker III might present the “big-time juice” that Kansas Metropolis Chiefs have been lacking, says Jeff Reinebold.
Walker signed as a free agent for the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs in a $45m deal this week having been named Tremendous Bowl MVP because the Seattle Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots in Santa Clara in February.
Reinebold, talking on the newest episode of Contained in the Huddle, welcomed the information as much-needed assist for Patrick Mahomes in his return from harm
“He’s got to be the guy that takes some of the pressure off of Patrick,” stated Reinebold. “Because right now, you know, Pat’s having to create; throwing the ball to receivers that I’d say are somewhere in the mid-pack of the NFL as a group.”
Reinebold, although, doesn’t imagine the information of Travis Kelce returning to the Chiefs for a 14th season, which broke on the identical day as Walker’s signing was introduced, is sufficient of a solution for the franchise.
“He gets Kelce back, which is going to be good, but Kelce is a lumbering tight end now: he’s not a nifty guy anymore,” Reinebold added. “He is nonetheless going to catch his balls, he will sit within the zone and catch a ball and go down; that is what you are going to get.
“So that they want, and I like Phoebe’s phrase for it, ‘juice’. And that is what Kenneth Walker brings: he brings you big-time juice.
“Remember, if that long run hadn’t been called back in the Super Bowl in the second half, he would have had over 160 yards of rushing yards in that game. And I cannot remember the last time we had a 150-yard runner in the Super Bowl.”
The Chiefs struggled to make impactful performs with their operating recreation final season, their operating backs solely combining for one rush of at the very least 20 yards all yr. Sky Sports activities NFL’s Phoebe Schecter thinks Walker may very well be the reply.
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Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold and Tremendous Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III celebrated their win over the New England Patriots at Disneyland!
“The Chiefs for ages now, one of the biggest complaints around them is they have no explosive run game,” she stated. “So I’m totally on board with what Jeff is saying. I think they’re hoping that, you know, they’ve had the Pacheco who is a bit of a battering ram in there and can run it down the middle.
“However they want any individual who’s going to have the ability to provide you with greater than that, as a result of they’ve actually struggled towards defenses currently. And a man like Kenneth Walker, simply coming off his Tremendous Bowl MVP, he is had four-plus runs of over 50 yards.
“That’s the kind of juice I think that they’ve been looking for. We’ve said in the past, it’s been Mahomes having to really make that happen. And they just can’t live like that anymore, we’ve seen what those injuries can look like.”
Mahomes ended 2025 by selecting up a torn ACL in a 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, which additionally put an finish to the Chiefs’ playoff hopes.
Reinebold does nonetheless have some considerations about Walker, significantly amid strategies the Chiefs might have regarded in direction of Notre Dame operating again Jeremiyah Love on the Draft.
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Watch highlights from Tremendous Bowl 60 as Walker gained MVP
“Kenneth Walker is an outstanding player, no question, but he split time in Seattle last year, and one of the reasons for that is that he struggled in pass protection,” he stated.
“You’re going to put him in front of Pat Mahomes and yes, they’ll free release him and they’ll use him out of the backfield like they did Pacheco and some of those other guys, but people are going to come after him when he’s in the backfield.
“The opposite factor about this one was – and that is how this entire factor can get blown aside in a second – all people was speaking about Kansas Metropolis having the ability to choose up Love, the operating again from Notre Dame, and all people knew that they wanted running-back assist, and that that was going to be the place they went.
“[Everybody] thought they’d go young with the kid from Notre Dame who’s really an exceptional, exceptional player, and instead, they pivot and go after a guy who has some injury history, has never been a full-time starter and has pass protection issues. So this is going to be a really interesting one to watch unfold in Kansas City.”
