00:00And then, of course, the Super Bowl MVP, Kenneth Walker, now is a Kansas City chief.
00:06Joe, how do you feel about Walker and Kelsey back and joining Kansas City?
00:11Well, I mean, it's good to have a legitimate, pure number one.
00:15I told you throughout the regular season last year with Kareem Hunt, he was a good running back,
00:21but certainly not a workhorse that could take a game over.
00:24And I understand he put up numbers, but for a majority of the season,
00:28Pat Mahomes was the leading rusher for that offense.
00:31And that cannot be in 2026 if they're going to make an AFC championship run.
00:36We saw Kenneth Walker take the Super Bowl over against the New England Patriots.
00:41He's a bell cow type of running back that could also catch the football out of the backfield.
00:46And again, he's a young kid, so he's at the pinnacle of his career.
00:51And if Kansas City utilizes him correctly, he could have a great three- to four-year run,
00:57similar to what we saw back in the day with Le'Veon Bell and with the Steelers.
01:01So let's see how it plays out.
01:03I mean, Kelsey just brings that veteran leadership into the locker room, Kev.
01:08Is he the same player that he was three or four seasons ago?
01:12No, but he is still a security blanket for Pat Mahomes.
01:16And when the game is on the line, they still find their way in their magic, especially at the goal
01:23line.
01:23So again, am I expecting a breakout year out of Travis Kelsey anywhere near 700 to 1,000 yards this
01:30year?
01:30No, but in a playoff type of push, he's going to be that veteran that Pat Mahomes looks to.
01:38For Kelsey, you know, it just means that that storied career is soon to be, I think, first ballot Hall
01:44of Famer, I think.
01:46Absolutely.
01:47Then again, who knows with these things, right?
01:49But we would think, Joe, it's not done yet.
01:52And that's a big story in and of itself.
01:55Ken Walker is a huge upgrade for Kansas City.
02:00I just don't know if they had to do something.
02:05Again, I just hesitate on the notion that Ken Walker's biggest contributions to this team will be this year, Joe,
02:12as opposed to potentially next year.
02:15We do not know if Pat Mahomes will be playing week number one.
02:21We just don't.
02:22Can I ask you this, Joe, just to bring in the draft in a little bit now?
02:25Because there's a Travis Etienne to New Orleans story that comes out as well.
02:30And again, I want to give Travis his own moment.
02:32Pick eight, New Orleans, running back.
02:36Pick nine, Kansas City, running back.
02:40Would you agree that those teams are reading the tea leaves and they know we can't draft Jeremiah Love?
02:49He will be gone by the time we would be coming up to the podium?
02:53I think that's definitely a possibility when we talked about the interest from John Harbaugh and the New York Giants,
03:01right, that he could be potentially a top five pick.
03:03And when you see that with the Saints at eight and Kansas City at nine, knowing that they had to
03:08significantly upgrade their rushing attack, they went with veteran running backs.
03:13I mean, Travis Etienne had a breakout year last year.
03:15It's a main reason why Tank Bigsby was shipped off to Philadelphia because of Cohen's ability and just love for
03:23Travis Etienne, not just in the rushing attack, but with the passing game as well.
03:27And when you look at just big picture and what Kenneth Walker was able to do in the Super Bowl,
03:33if you're Kansas City, you cannot roll the dice and wait for Jeremiah Love to fall to you at number
03:40nine.
03:40It just can't happen. They took a shot. They had the ability to get a primetime player, a Super Bowl
03:46MVP, and they took their opportunity.
03:48And to your point, it's a significant upgrade to where they were the past couple of years.
03:53Think about all the wide receiver talent that Kansas City has had, pure number ones, pure.
03:58They never had a number one running back, Kevin.
04:01When was the last time they had a pure number one running back?
04:04You might have to go back to the days of Priest Holmes.
04:08I mean, this is now an offense that can rely on Kenneth Walker 20 to 25 carries a game, just
04:15like Derrick Henry, potentially.
04:18Yeah, they certainly could, right?
04:20I mean, Walker was, you know, able to have a pretty legitimate workload, we know, in the postseason after the
04:25Zach Charbonnet interview, or injury, excuse me.
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