Kenneth Walker vs Ashton Jeanty

“The most significant offseason addition on offense for the Chiefs was running back Kenneth Walker III, and their offseason actions would suggest they want to improve their running game, possibly leaning on Walker to take some work off Mahomes' plate in his return from knee surgery.”

“The Chiefs added Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker in free agency and made three top-40 picks in this year's draft, using a 6-11 2025 record to their advantage.”

“With the expectation that the offense could lean more heavily on the running game early in the season, Walker could see a significant touch count right away, and the hosts believe he possesses legitimate top-10 fantasy upside.”

“Walker has struggled to handle a heavy workload throughout his career and has often found himself sharing touches. Walker brings exactly what Kansas City's backfield has been missing: explosiveness, with elite explosive run rate and ability to force missed tackles.”

“With his salivating mix of talent and efficiency, Walker should be an explosive RB1 in 2026.”

“Last year, Walker ranked second in explosive run rate, first in missed tackle rate, ninth in yards per route run, and 12th in first downs per route run. He was a per-touch efficiency marvel.”

“Kenneth Walker arrives in Kansas City as the Chiefs' new lead back. Walker had a disappointing season in 2025 from a fantasy standpoint as the RB28 in fantasy points per game, but it's easy to see why it unfolded that way.”

“The addition of Kenneth Walker III will likely also reduce their reliance on short throws to Rice as a replacement for the traditional run game.”

“Fitzmaurice also sounded extremely optimistic about Kenneth Walker III after selecting him in the third round. The core argument was that Kansas City desperately needed explosiveness in the backfield and finally addressed it. Fitz believes the Chiefs are serious about re-establishing the run game, and Walker's big-play ability gives him league-winning upside in that offense.”

“Kenneth Walker III became a discussion about workload expectations. The issue is whether fantasy managers are now projecting a workhorse role that simply may never exist consistently. The panel highlighted his limited goal-line usage, injury history, and the fact that Seattle carefully managed touches throughout most of his career before finally leaning heavily on him during the playoff run.”

“Kenneth Walker III signed a 3-year, $43.05 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs to be their lead back and is currently RB9 in dynasty. That is way too high for a running back who had a great playoff run, but otherwise was an average back in a committee system in Seattle. He is stepping in to lead a Kansas City backfield that hasn't produced a 1,000-yard rusher since 2017, and he will be losing pass-catching duties to rookie Emmett Johnson and Emari Demercado.”

“Johnson joins a crowded backfield in Kansas City, where he'll work for reps behind free agent addition — and Super Bowl LX MVP — Kenneth Walker.”

“One player available at this spot with undeniable upside is Ashton Jeanty. When the Raiders selected him sixth overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, the expectations were tempered slightly because of where the Raiders were as an offense. What wasn't expected, though, was how dramatically bad the offense performed, starting with the offensive line, which ranked dead last in Pro Football Focus' (PFF) offensive line rankings.”

“He racked up over 1,200 yards and scored 10 times behind an abysmal offensive line. Now he gets Klint Kubiak as his head coach, bringing over an offensive system that helped Seattle win the Super Bowl. Expect Jeanty's efficiency to skyrocket if he keeps evading tackles as he did in 2025, when his juke rate (27.7%) ranked fifth among all running backs.”

“You can make a similar case for Ashton Jeanty, assuming the Raiders are better up front after their offseason additions and coaching changes and are better overall on offense with either Kirk Cousins or Fernando Mendoza at quarterback.”

“The Raiders' offensive line allowed Jeanty to get contacted at or behind the line of scrimmage on 54% of his carries, the league's second-worst rate.”

“Jeanty is a volatile pick who could fail to live up to the expectations that accompany his fantasy football ADP, despite a massive ceiling if the Raiders' offensive line gels and new quarterback Mendoza clicks right away.”

“Despite a massive workload last season, Jeanty was only the RB17 in half-PPR points per game (12.8) among running backs with at least eight games played, and volume alone won't assure Jeanty pans out and finishes as an RB6 or better this season.”

“It's going to be an uphill battle for Mike Washington to dominate backfield touches, given that the Raiders have an all-time running back prospect ahead of him with Ashton Jeanty.”

“Raiders RB coach Omar Young said the team has put RB Ashton Jeanty "in all different kinds of positions to see exactly what he can and cannot do."”

“Ashton Jeanty finished the 2025 season with 245.1 PPR points, one of only two rookies to score more than 215.0 points.”

“Ashton Jeanty was the only rookie to finish as an RB1 in PPR scoring, ending the year as the RB11.”

“Raiders HC Klint Kubiak says the team plans to challenge RB Ashton Jeanty in his sophomore season and put pressure on him in order to get the best out of last year's first-round pick. "We want to put a lot of pressure on Ashton," Kubiak said. "The next guy that steps up, whoever that may be, that's going to be seen here in practice, OTAs and training camp, but we think we should continue to challenge Ashton and get more out of him."”

“Fitzmaurice drafted Ashton Jeanty over Jonathan Taylor late in the first round. Fitz explained that Jeanty survived terrible offensive circumstances last season and still managed double-digit touchdowns. The expectation now is that Las Vegas will field a significantly improved rushing environment thanks to offensive line upgrades and a coaching staff expected to lean heavily on the run game.”