Will Kansas City Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III win a Super Bowl with his new team? If so, he’ll become just the second player in NFL history to win a Super Bowl MVP with two different franchises.
Quarterback Tom Brady is the only player to have received the honor with two teams. He won four with the New England Patriots and one as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Walker won the Super Bowl MVP last season, as he helped the Seattle Seahawks defeat the Patriots in the “The Big Game.” Then he left Seattle this offseason to sign a three-year, $45 million contract ($28.7 million fully guaranteed) with the Chiefs. It’ll be interesting to see if Walker can win a second MVP.
Chiefs Running Back Kenneth Walker III Could Make History with His New Team
His Career Thus Far
Walker attended Arlington High School in Arlington, Tennessee. He rushed for 3,485 yards and 41 touchdowns during his career. He then committed to play college football at Wake Forest.
After two seasons at Wake Forest, Walker transferred to Michigan State following the 2020 campaign. He rushed for a whopping 264 yards and four touchdowns in his debut with the Spartans. Walker won both the Walter Camp and Doak Walker Awards in 2021 and then declared for the NFL draft.
The Seahawks drafted Walker in the second round (41st overall pick) of the 2022 NFL Draft. He had a great first year, rushing for 1,050 yards and nine touchdowns. He also joined Curt Warner as the only players in Seahawks history to rush for at least 1,000 yards as a rookie.
In addition, Walker helped Seattle reach the playoffs during his rookie year. He recorded 63 rushing yards and a touchdown during a 41-23 Wild Card Round loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Walker rushed for 905 yards and eight touchdowns during his second season. In Week 3 against the Carolina Panthers, he had 156 scrimmage yards and two rushing touchdowns, as he was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week.
Walker missed six games due to injury in 2024 and ran for 573 yards and eight touchdowns that year. He also caught a career-high 46 passes for 299 yards and a touchdown. Walker played in all 17 games last season, rushing for 1,027 yards and five scores while adding 31 receptions for 282 yards.
Revisiting Walker’s Super Bowl Performance
As mentioned earlier, Walker earned Super Bowl MVP honors last season. He had 27 carries for 135 yards and 26 receiving yards as Seattle beat the Patriots 31-27. His 135 rushing yards were the most in a Super Bowl since Terrell Davis’ 157 back in 1998. Davis was also the last running back named Super Bowl MVP before Walker.
Will the Chiefs Running Back Accomplish the Feat?
Last season, the Chiefs ranked 25th in yards per game (106.6) and 20th in yards per carry (4.21), and failed to reach the 100-yard rush mark in each of the final four games of the season. Yeah, that’s not very good at all.
Needless to say, the Walker signing is just what Kansas City needed. He’s a huge upgrade over Kareen Hunt and Isiah Pacheco, who served as the team’s running backs last year.
Can Walker become the first non-quarterback to win a Super Bowl MVP with two teams? Yes, he can, but it’ll be a difficult task for the new Chiefs running back. Yet, Walker joins a Kansas City squad that knows a thing or two about winning Super Bowls. They’ve won three with head coach Andy Reid, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and tight end Travis Kelce leading the way.
The future Hall of Fame trio remains with the team although Mahomes is recovering from a torn ACL. If Mahomes can stay healthy, the Chiefs certainly have a chance to win another Super Bowl within the next few years. And if they do win one, Walker could win another MVP if he has a performance like he did against the Patriots a season ago.
Main Image: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
