Emmett Johnson — Week 1: Two Targets, Forty-Four Yards
2026 NFL Season · Half-PPR Scoring · Tuesday, Sep 15
Johnson caught both of his targets for 44 yards — 25 on third and five to the Denver four with 15:00 left in the game, and 19 on first and twenty-five — and carried eight times for 24 yards, four of them on the drive that ran out the clock. He was the only back other than Kenneth Walker to carry the ball, in a 31–10 win over the Broncos.
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24 to 10, Chiefs, first play of the fourth quarter, third and five at the Denver 29. Patrick Mahomes threw short left to Emmett Johnson, who took it 25 yards to the four, and an unnecessary-roughness penalty on the tackle moved it to the two. +3.1 expected points added — expected points added is what a play was worth given down, distance and field position — the second-most valuable Chiefs pass play of the night behind the 59-yarder to Travis Kelce. Kenneth Walker scored on the next snap.
The line: eight carries, 24 yards, one first down, two of the eight successful, −0.5 expected points on the carries; two targets, two catches, 44 yards, one first down, +4.3 on the targets. The second catch was 19 yards on first and 25 with nine 24 left, after a chop-block penalty. The longest run was six. Three carries before halftime for eight yards, five after for 16, and four of the eight came on the last Kansas City possession, when the job was the clock: six, one, three on third and three for the first down, and four. Neither target came before halftime.
The split: Walker 23 designed runs, Johnson eight, four Mahomes scrambles. No other back carried the ball. Two targets were tied for fifth on the team, behind Xavier Worthy and Walker with six each, Kelce with five, and level with Rashee Rice.
Back in June the preview called Johnson a late-round claim on a role that did not exist yet — pick one 85, behind Walker and Kareem Hunt — and named two things to watch: passing-down snaps, meaning two-minute work over Hunt, and return-game usage as the quiet path to a roster spot. Monday settled the first more than expected: no other back carried the ball, and the two catches were the second-most valuable receiving line on the team, behind Travis Kelce. The carries were the clock-killing kind. One game does not make a role, and eight carries for 24 yards is not the case for one. The two catches are. The Chiefs are home to the Colts on Sunday night, the twentieth.
_Data via nflverse._
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