The Denver Broncos have been rumored to be interested in some of the top running backs available in NFL Free Agency, but they won't be getting Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker.
Walker spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks, and he will now be heading to the AFC West, but not to the Denver Broncos. The Kansas City Chiefs signed Walker to a three-year contract worth up to $45 million with $28.7 million in guaranteed money.
It's a massive contract for Walker coming off of a great playoff run, and his Super Bowl MVP performance definitely contributed to this massive pay day. Instead of upgrading Denver's running game, however, they're going to have to defend against him as a member of the Chiefs twice a year.
Chiefs steal Kenneth Walker possibility from the Broncos at the start of Free Agency Frenzy
The Chiefs desperately needed to upgrade their running game this offseason, just like the Broncos do. Kansas City already brought back Eric Bieniemy, who for all his faults as an offensive coordinator outside of Kansas City, has done a great job developing running backs.
Specifically, we saw last year the ascent of the Bears' running game with Bieniemy coaching up those backs, and both D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai had really solid seasons.
The Chiefs, according to ESPN, had the lowest designed rush rate (34 percent) of any year that Patrick Mahomes has been a starter. The Chiefs had just three runs of 15-plus yards last season, and were 30th in the NFL in yards per carry.
Make no mistake -- as desperate as the Broncos might be to add a big-time back to the mix, the Chiefs were probably even more desperate, and this move shows exactly that. It always felt like, going into NFL Free Agency, that there was a chance we could see the two AFC West teams battling it out for some of the top backs in the free agent pool.
Walker would have been a fun addition for the Broncos, but a lot of folks have poked a lot of holes in his game based on whether or not he's a true three-down back, or whether he's the most effective possible back based on his body of work the last four years. Based on his age (just 25), it might have been worth the risk, but the price point was undoubtedly a deterring factor.
We'll see how it works out for Kansas City, but this undoubtedly amplifies the need for the Broncos to go get someone who can give a boost to their running game.