Kenneth Walker III plays his first game against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night, and the NFL’s leading rusher spent his final media session of the week steering attention away from the reunion and toward the men blocking for him.
Speaking at the Chiefs’ facility on Friday, October 23, Walker described the week as routine. “I’m treating it like any other week,” he said, adding that his focus was simply on learning the game plan for the trip to Lumen Field. He said the only real conversation he had about facing a former club was with offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who went through the same thing as a running back, and that the game should not be framed around one player.
When the subject turned to his production, Walker pointed to the offensive line and the rest of the offense. “It takes all 11,” he said, explaining that his numbers would not exist without the work up front.
The numbers he brings back
Those numbers are the best in the league. Walker has 665 rushing yards on 106 carries through five games, an average of 6.3 yards a try, with six rushing touchdowns and two more as a receiver. His longest run of the season went 76 yards. He has three games of 120 rushing yards or more: 173 in the opener against Denver, a career-best 177 with two scores at Las Vegas in Week 4, and 128 on 19 carries with two touchdowns as Kansas City beat the Chargers 22-6 at home last Sunday, a game in which he opened the scoring on a 33-yard run and added a 2-yard score before halftime.
Walker rushed for a career-best 177 yards on Sunday! pic.twitter.com/e5NjYH2DOk
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) October 6, 2026
The production has carried Kansas City through a 5-0 start in which Patrick Mahomes has not had to do everything.
Why Seattle matters
Walker spent his first four seasons with the Seahawks after they drafted him in the second round in 2022 out of Michigan State. His last game for them was Super Bowl LX in February, when he was named MVP after running for 135 yards on 27 carries against New England. He signed a three-year contract with Kansas City in March and turned 26 on Tuesday, October 20.
He said this week that he enjoyed his time in Seattle, still talks with former teammates and rates the Seahawks’ defense at least as highly as last season’s. Seattle’s coaching staff spent part of its own week fielding questions about him.
Running back screens are one play that have given the Seahawks’ defense trouble this season. That’s long been a strength of the Chiefs’ offense under Andy Reid.
Here was Mike Macdonald today on defending screens and on the hot start Ken Walker III is off to in Kansas City: pic.twitter.com/qYNj8fIgk3
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) October 21, 2026
The defending champions are 3-3 and looking for a home win to get back above .500, while the Chiefs are trying to stay unbeaten. Walker’s full season and game log are on his WhyNFL player page.
What comes next
The Chiefs and Seahawks kick off at 8:20 p.m. EDT on Sunday, October 25, at Lumen Field; live numbers will be in the Game Center. Kansas City then visits Denver on Sunday, November 1, and Seattle hosts Chicago on Monday, November 2.
No published comments yet. Start the conversation.