The Kansas City Chiefs are 4-0 and rolling, which usually means the MVP conversation starts and ends with Patrick Mahomes. But Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk floated a different name into the mix: Kenneth Walker III.
Florio argued that Walker can make a real case not only for Kansas City’s most valuable player, but for the league’s MVP as well. He also pointed to Bijan Robinson of the Atlanta Falcons as another running back who belongs in that conversation.
It’s a long shot, of course. Florio noted that no non-quarterback has won MVP since Adrian Peterson beat out Peyton Manning in 2012. Go back through the current century and the list is still tiny: Marshall Faulk in 2000, Shaun Alexander in 2005, LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006 and Peterson in 2012.
Robinson drew praise from Florio as “a touchdown waiting to happen,” and he backed that up with a 59-yard touchdown run in Atlanta’s 45-24 win, a play that helped set the tone and put the Falcons in front early. He has 494 rushing yards, 120 receiving yards and five total touchdowns.
Walker’s case looks different, but it’s just as eye-catching. Kansas City has used him as a hammer alongside Mahomes’ passing game, and he delivered in a big way against the Las Vegas Raiders, scoring two touchdowns in just 19 seconds during the Chiefs’ 30-27 win.
His receiving work has become part of the argument too. That wasn’t seen as a strength for Walker, but Kansas City has leaned into him in the screen game with soft tosses that function like short aerial handoffs.
So far, he has 537 rushing yards, 84 receiving yards and six total touchdowns. Florio also pointed out that he is only the third player in NFL history to post at least 170 rushing yards in two of the first four games of a season, joining Jim Brown and O.J. Simpson.
Even with those numbers, both Walker and Robinson sit well down the MVP odds board. That’s no mystery: quarterbacks shape every game, while running backs often fade from the spotlight when the ball isn’t in their hands, and that bias has historically made the award tough for them to win.
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