No matter who is under center, the job should be made easier with the addition of free agent marquee Chiefs signing quarterback Kenneth Walker III.
Kansas City struggled to find traction on the ground last season, finishing 25th in rushing yards. Walker, the Super Bowl LX MVP, rushed for 1,027 yards in his final year as a Seahawk, just shy of Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco combined (1,073). He has the potential to become the next great quarterback under Reid, who until recently had earned a reputation as a quarterback, coaching talents like Brian Westbrook and Jamaal Charles to massive success.
“He’s a good football player and that’s not going to change. He’s not going to change when he comes to us,” Reid said of Walker. “He’s still going to be a good football player. As long as he stays healthy and keeps going, good things can happen to you. We know the run game is important and we have good offensive linemen in front of him, so that’s going to be a plus for him. It should be a plus for our football team.”
Aside from the additions of Walker and Fields, as well as the return of tight end Travis Kelce, the Chiefs haven’t had a massive influx of big-time talent this offseason. Especially in the secondary school, there has been some exodus. Kansas City traded cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams and another starting cornerback, Jaylen Watson, ended up in LA via free agency.
The 68-year-old Reid, who has coached in the NFL for half his life now – having started with the Green Bay Packers in 1992 – is more than content to rebuild the secondary as he has done in the past.
“I’ve been in positions as a head coach where we’ve revamped the secondary,” Reid said. “At Green Bay, we added in the secondary. I’ve been through it and seen it be productive. Do you want to lose (Trent) McDuffie? No, but that’s the way football is today. That’s the way it works today. So, you have to be flexible, and then you have to put yourself in a position where you can’t repeat a good game last year, I know that’s not good. We’ll continue to work through it this year, I’m not worried of that, I’m looking forward to seeing who they are coming in.
Regardless of any needs the Chiefs may have to fill, Reid projects his composure moving forward. He doesn’t worry about corners. He told Battista he won’t force an addition at edge rusher and that Kansas City is “in a better position than most teams” in the penalty box.
In about a month, exactly which positions the Chiefs decide to strengthen will be revealed during the draft. As long as they’re heavyweights, the Chiefs are in a rare position to pick ninth overall. They have also picked no. 29 thanks to the McDuffie trade.
The 2026 Chiefs, already coming off a season so alien to the Mahomes era, will look different, but in the painful postseason after going 6-11, Reid has been confident Kansas City can come back stronger.
“We’ve had a lot of time to think about it,” he said. “It’s been a long offseason, but it’s great to reflect on it, great to go back in and turn that negative thing in your mind, the end of the season like we did, into a positive one by renewing. Make sure you’re getting healthy – coaches and players – so stay on top of it. And then take advantage of that as you work into this next season.”