Jason McIntyre isn’t buying the idea that Kenneth Walker III is walking into Kansas City as some kind of rescue mission.
On Wednesday’s episode of The Herd, the NFL analyst pushed back hard on Chiefs general manager Brett Veach’s description of Walker as a “savior,” even as Veach made clear how long he’d been eyeing the running back. Veach said he had wanted Walker since late last year and admitted Walker’s postseason showing had him worried another team might get him first. Kansas City ultimately landed the 25-year-old on a three-year, $43.05 million deal.
McIntyre, though, wasn’t moved by the hype.
“Hold up. Kenneth Walker as a savior?”
the analyst questioned. “Are we talking about the guy who has two 100-yard games last year while platooning with [Zach] Charbonnet, and then only dominated in the postseason because the Seahawks were leading every single game by a billion, and they rode the defense and Walker to victory?
That Super Bowl MVP?”
He did acknowledge Walker is a good player. But in McIntyre’s view, the signing doesn’t suddenly change the Chiefs’ ceiling.
“This ain't Saquon Barkley going to the Eagles and winning a Super Bowl,” he said. “That's not this.”
McIntyre also used Veach’s praise of Walker as a way to question how the Chiefs have handled their roster around the skill positions. In his telling, the excitement around Walker says as much about Kansas City’s recent misses as it does about the running back himself.
“We've been hearing about the skill-position players in K.C. for years,” he continues. “Skyy Moore?
Nah, didn't work out. Xavier Worthy?
Still waiting, bro. Rashee Rice?
Effective when not in handcuffs. Travis Kelce carried this team in the post-Tyreek Hill era, and now he's playing his age.”
Walker now arrives in Kansas City with a lot on his plate, and the source material also describes him as the reigning Super Bowl MVP. It says he had a quieter regular season last year before delivering a historic postseason run.
With Patrick Mahomes expected back from his ACL injury sometime this season, Walker is expected to be a central piece of the Chiefs’ offense. His burst and ability with the ball could take some of the load off Mahomes.
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