Kansas City Chiefs Running Back Depth Chart — 2026

A handcuff is the backup who inherits the starter's workload if the starter gets hurt — so the Chiefs handcuff is whoever sits directly behind Kenneth Walker on the depth chart above. Rostering him is how you protect a starting back you have already spent a pick on. More on what a handcuff is.

Brashard Smith drew 35 targets last season, 2.06 a game, on 17.1% of the snaps. Kenneth Walker drew 36 in Seattle on 46.7% of that team's.

Walker arrives from Seattle without a questionable tag now — the designation was lifted, with nothing new attached in its place.

What he brought there was volume rather than efficiency, and that profile travels with him even without fresh figures to attach here.

The depth chart behind him has shifted. Smith moved up from RB4 to RB3, and Johnson moved up from RB3 to RB2, while Ott was dropped from the chart entirely. Demercado, in Arizona, played 17.5% of the team's snaps, with an availability line of 36 of 51 team games. EJ Smith went from injured reserve to questionable and was dropped from the chart, and Nathan Carter joined the room after moving from Atlanta to Kansas City.

A rotational share, split two ways, just tipped one direction. Smith moved from RB4 to RB3 on the depth chart, Emmett Johnson moved up to RB2 in the same move, and Demercado's own slot fell from RB2 to RB6.

Demercado held 17.5% of the snap share in Arizona, 68th among running backs, and 18.9% of pass-play snaps, 65th.

What separates them now is opportunity and availability. Demercado drew 20 targets in 12 games, 1.67 a game — under the 25 needed to rank — catching 13 for 101 yards and a touchdown. He has played in 70.6% of his team's games over the past three seasons, appearing in 36 of them.

The depth chart move now runs opposite the direction it did before, with Demercado dropping from RB2 to RB6 while Smith and Johnson each moved up a slot. The reporting below explains why.

Not one the snap counts identify — which is exactly why the reporting below matters here.

Walker played 43.7% of Seattle's pass snaps against 46.7% of its snaps, a tilt of -3.0 — he came off for some of them, but not many.

Smith played 109 pass snaps, 15.8%, 70th among running backs — a small share that nonetheless produced 35 targets. Demercado played 141 pass snaps in Arizona, 18.9%, and drew 20 targets.

So one of these backs has caught passes and the other was on the field for throwing downs without catching many. The reporting below says which of those the team was buying.

Reporting from a previous season, kept because a role a player has already held is the best evidence available about the one he might hold next. It describes 2025, not now.

Emari Demercado worked as a depth back and situational pass protector for the Arizona Cardinals in 2025, taking a meaningful share of his snaps in pass protection. (Chiefs.com, 2026-03-16)

Brashard Smith shared backfield touches with Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco as a Kansas City rookie in 2025. (CBS Sports, 2026-06-08)

What the beat is reporting, last refreshed 2026-09-28. Nothing here is measured — it is reporting, attributed and dated.

Kansas City signed Kenneth Walker to a three-year deal in March (NFL.com, 2026-03-09). Walker missed practice with a foot injury during the preseason (Yahoo Sports, 2026-07-17).

Walker said he has been working on getting connected with Patrick Mahomes in the passing game and expects to be used more as a receiver, and that Eric Bieniemy has been drilling him on run-game blocking and pass-game detail (A to Z Sports, 2026-05-05).

Emari Demercado signed with Kansas City as a free agent from Arizona on a one-year deal (Kansas City Star, via Yahoo Sports, 2026-07-17).

The team framed Demercado's signing as a player who could compete for the third-down role, citing his pass-protection workload in Arizona (Chiefs.com, 2026-03-16).

KCSN reported Demercado was signed specifically to fill the third-down specialist role, replacing Jerick McKinnon's function as the pass-protection anchor on situational downs, with blitz pickup the primary job (KC Sports Network, 2026-03-13).

Demercado logged second-team running back repetitions during OTAs and mandatory minicamp, and the No. 2 job was open among Demercado, rookie Emmett Johnson and second-year back Brashard Smith (A to Z Sports, 2026-07-15).

Brashard Smith was identified as an offensive player with a role to lose in camp; he was tasked with adding strength this offseason and the coaching staff's vision for his role remains unclear (A to Z Sports, 2026-07-21).

A pre-camp depth chart listed Walker as the starter with Demercado, Emmett Johnson and Brashard Smith behind him in that order (Sports Illustrated (Arrowhead Report), 2026-07-19).

CBS Sports called pass catching Brashard Smith's asset and said it might earn him a role in tandem with Walker, but noted he must prove he is better than Demercado and Emmett Johnson early (CBS Sports, 2026-06-08).