Chiefs RB coach DeMarco Murray: It's hard to take Kenneth Walker out

Published September 25, 2026 06:58 AM Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker is off to an impressive start to the season and the team has been giving him plenty of chances to show off his game. Walker led the NFL in carries through the first two weeks of the season and he was tied with Jahmyr Gibbs for overall offensive touches, which led to questions for head coach Andy Reid earlier this week about whether the Chiefs should do more to manage his workload over the course of a long season. On Thursday, running backs coach DeMarco Murray fielded similar questions at a press conference. Murray said Walker “likes the ball a lot and I like giving it to him,” but acknowledged that finding ways to get rookie Emmett Johnson into the mix more often is something that is on his mind heading into the Chiefs’ Week 3 game against the Dolphins. “It’s more of a feel for me. Obviously, I want Kenneth to get into a groove and, as you guys have seen these first two games, it’s hard to kind of take him out,” Murray said. “But Emmett’s done a great job and he’s still learning. He’ll continue to get more opportunities. I’ve just got to pull the trigger and get No. 9 out of there and put No. 10 in there.”Johnson has 103 yards on 14 touches so far this season, which makes him an appealing backup option in any week and facing an overmatched Dolphins team this weekend might make giving Walker some extra time off an even easier call for Murray and the rest of the Chiefs staff.