KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Coach Andy Reid said film review exposed a glaring flaw in the Chiefs’ offense: linebackers and safeties were not respecting the run on play-action, often dropping into coverage when Kansas City faked handoffs. That trend persisted through a 6-11 season in which the club missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
The Chiefs used play-action on 178 snaps last season, the seventh-most in the NFL, but produced just 977 passing yards from those plays and ranked 20th overall, according to ESPN Research. The unit also allowed nine sacks on play-action snaps while scoring three touchdowns, underscoring the lack of production.
An example came in Week 14 against the Houston Texans, when Patrick Mahomes faked a handoff to Kareem Hunt with three tight ends on the field and found none of his primary options — Tyquan Thornton, Travis Kelce or Hunt — open, forcing him to throw the ball away.
The Chiefs’ top free-agent addition, running back Kenneth Walker III, figures into the plan to fix play-action. Walker has said he prefers running from under center, and the team expects more under-center work this season. Isiah Pacheco and Hunt combined for only one rushing attempt that gained more than 20 yards in 2025, the fewest in the league, while Walker ranked fourth in percentage of runs of 10 or more yards (minimum 150 touches) with the Seattle Seahawks, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Mahomes noted the attraction of Walker’s No. 9, pointing to the rookie’s ability to catch, run and pass protect and to make plays into long gains. Last season Mahomes operated from the shotgun on 80.6 percent of formations (excluding kneel-downs), the third-most in the league, according to ESPN Research.
During training camp Mahomes took several reps under center and ran a variety of play-action looks — seven-step dropbacks, naked rollouts and nontraditional fakes with receivers in motion — many of which resulted in throws beyond 20 yards that were often completed to Kelce, Thornton and Xavier Worthy. Reid and Mahomes have both identified improving play-action as a key to making the offense more dangerous in the coming season.
