Context clues from the Kansas City Chiefs’ offseason point to one thing: the team is taking the run game more seriously in 2026.
Whether it was general manager Brett Veach’s comments at the NFL Scouting Combine talking about wanting more “explosiveness” in the Chiefs’ run game before signing running back Kenneth Walker, or head coach Andy Reid hiring former NFL backs Eric Bieniemy and DeMarco Murray onto the coaching staff, it’s clear the rushing attack will be taken more seriously in 2026.
During an interview with “The Pat McAfee Show” on Friday morning, general manager Brett Veach further discussed the Chiefs’ offseason philosophy now that the draft is complete. He settled into a focus point when speaking about the offense.
“We certainly made an effort to improve the running game,” Veach said. “We added Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker, feel real good about our offensive line, we’ve invested a lot in the offensive line the last few years, we have Creed Humphrey, Trey [Smith], then the first-round pick last year.”
Veach spoke on the importance of Bieniemy towards an improved run game, one that finished with the 25th-ranked rushing total by the end of the 2025 regular season, with only three games overcoming the absence of quarterback Patrick Mahomes before his knee injury.
“Bringing EB back is certainly going to play a factor in that,” Veach expressed. “You guys know how talented he is and how much he demands, or the demands he puts on the linemen up front. Obviously, Eric is probably one of the best running back coaches of all-time.”
“We’re excited to add Kenneth Walker. We added a fifth-round pick in Emmett Johnson,” Veach continued. “But I think, getting back to the old-school: play defense and establish that run game, I think, will take a lot of pressure off Pat and as he’s working back from that injury, allow him to kind of do what he does and hopefully, by midseason or late-season, Pat’s in that groove, and we have this thing cooking.”
That’s the mindset of the organization when it comes to improving the run game, a lackluster one even with Mahomes at full health in recent seasons. However, it becomes even more important when considering the physical limits the gunslinger could be playing with early in his time back on the field.
It’s something Veach may have been considering since before the 2025 season was even over. He shared some behind-the-scenes dialogue about the thought process behind signing Walker.
“I did [in] November and December,” Veach answered when asked if he thought he could sign Walker in free agency. “And then he went on that playoff heater, and I got a little worried. I think I actually texted Pat during the Super Bowl after he busted that long run that got called back. I said, ‘he’s going to run right to another team,’ because there weren’t a lot of running backs available.
“But I think Kenneth saw the fit here, the vision here,” Veach shared. “Once that window opened, I think it was pretty clear how much we coveted him, and again, we’re super excited to have him here and help get this run game going.”
On the other side of the ball, the “old-school” mentality can fit for a Chiefs’ defense that hasn’t met the Kansas City tradition of a fearsome third-down pass rush that headlined the teams of the 1990s and the early years of head coach Andy Reid’s tenure.
Maybe it’s old school to focus on stopping the run, which the team has been successful at when necessary, but the Chiefs are trying to turn back the clock to the prime days of defensive tackle Chris Jones’ mayoral rule over “Sack Nation” with how the team attacked the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
“On the defensive side of things, the ability to get off the field on third downs,” Veach started. “I think we did some really good things defensively, but the one thing we struggled at was that third down. That’s why adding a player like Mansoor Delane, then we added Peter Woods, we want to create a little bit more pressure up front. We have to get offenses off the field on third down.”
Kansas City’s general manager didn’t mention the addition of edge rusher R Mason Thomas, but it certainly adds to the point he makes about the Chiefs’ desire to improve that phase of the game in 2026.
In all, Veach has his mind on making things easier for Mahomes as he eases back into playing football at full speed. There’s no holding back the three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback, who is likely going to participate in OTAs later this month, but the team is working on preventing him from feeling like the team’s success rides nearly entirely on his shoulders, as it did the last few seasons.
