Kenneth Walker's Offensive Player of the Year Odds Jump After KC Debut

Kenneth Walker apparently didn’t need much time to get comfortable in Andy Reid's Kansas City offense.

The new Chiefs running back piled up 191 yards from scrimmage and 2 touchdowns in Monday night’s 31-10 win over Denver, giving Patrick Mahomes some fairly substantial help in the season opener. He followed up that performance with 178 more all-purpose yards in week 2 against the Colts.

Walker’s Offensive Player of the Year odds now sit at +800 at DraftKings Sportsbook for an outright second place, trailing only Jahmyr Gibbs (+550).

That is a huge swing from DraftKings’ opening market in preseason, when Walker was listed at +4000. He’s gone from an outside possibility to one of the leading contenders in a few weeks, and his first few games in a Chiefs uniform offer a pretty convincing explanation for the enthusiasm.

Is it justified or a classic early-season overreaction?

Walker finished with 173 rushing yards on 23 carries, averaging 7.5 yards per attempt. He added three receptions for 18 yards and scored both on the ground and through the air against a stout Denver D. K9's signature play came on a 4th-and-1 in the third quarter where, instead of just moving the chains, he housed a 60-yard TD run.

For some perspective on how thoroughly he took over, Denver finished with 176 yards of total offense. Walker outgained the Broncos by himself.

The workload was almost as encouraging as the production. Walker handled 26 touches, compared with 10 for fellow running back Emmett Johnson. His six targets were also tied for the team lead, suggesting that his involvement won’t necessarily disappear when Kansas City needs to throw.

That is the part that matters most for his chances at realistically taking home the award. The long touchdown grabs the attention, but dependable volume would give Walker a much stronger foundation for an award-winning season than relying on the occasional highlight.

It has been an impressive start, but every season has an early standout who doesn't hold up over the course of the season. Walker has now given us two games to consider instead of one.

Walker arrived in Kansas City as the reigning Super Bowl MVP after rushing for 135 yards in Seattle’s win over New England. His ability to take over a big game was hardly a secret before his Chiefs debut.

But his best regular season to date produced 1,309 scrimmage yards, which he reached last year. His career-high rushing total remains the 1,050 yards he recorded as a rookie.

Those are productive numbers, but an OPOY campaign would require another level of sustained production.

The optimistic argument is that his new role could provide exactly that without Zach Charbonnet vulturing touches. His Week 2 outing was particularly useful evidence: Walker averaged 4.9 yards per carry rather than 7.5, scored no touchdowns, and still finished with 178 yards from scrimmage.

Walker probably won't average 6.2 yards per carry all season, but he doesn't necessarily need to. He does need enough work to remain productive when the explosive runs aren’t there, and enough involvement near the end zone to keep the touchdowns coming.

With the threat of Patrick Mahomes' arm, Walker has room to punish defenses that give Kansas City lighter fronts. The Colts game also showed how useful he can be in the passing game.

At +800, the question is whether these first two games are a glimpse of his new normal or merely a spectacular introduction with an impressive encore.

Walker isn’t the only playmaker building an early case. Jahmyr Gibbs remains the favorite at +550 and followed up a heavy Week 1 workload with 113 scrimmage yards and a receiving touchdown against Buffalo. Derrick Henry and Bijan Robinson are still firmly in the mix, so there’s no shortage of competition even within Walker’s own position.

The receivers are a threat, too. Walker’s former teammate and defending Offensive Player of the Year, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, followed his 122-yard opener with nine catches for 155 yards and three touchdowns against Arizona. That gives him 277 yards and four scores through two games, and his +950 odds put him immediately behind Walker. Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, and Puka Nacua are also on the board, although Nacua missed the Rams’ Week 2 game with a hip injury.

Walker’s playoff campaign last season and first two games in Kansas City give us pretty convincing reasons to take his candidacy seriously. They don’t give us much reason to dismiss everyone else. He’s earned his place among the leading contenders, but staying there will take considerably more than two great games.