No coach-speak.
No hiding behind injuries or bad luck.
Standing at the NFL Scouting Combine, Brett Veach laid bare the uncomfortable truth about the Kansas City Chiefs — and why 2026 cannot look anything like the year before.
The running game failed them.
And it can’t happen again.
A weakness everyone saw — and Veach finally said out loud
The Chiefs’ 2025 season didn’t unravel quietly. It collapsed.
A 6–11 record.
Nine one-score losses.
No playoffs for the first time in a decade.
While the offense struggled across the board, Veach identified the most damaging flaw when asked about priorities heading into 2026 — especially with Patrick Mahomes working his way back from a devastating knee injury.
“Certainly, we want to get more explosive in the running game,” Veach said.
“The running game takes a lot of pressure off everybody. If we can be more explosive and effective there, we can take pressure off Pat — especially early in the season coming back from the injury.”
Translation?
Kansas City cannot ask Mahomes to save them again.
The numbers that tell the story
In 2025, the Chiefs averaged just 106.6 rushing yards per game — 25th in the NFL.
For a team built on balance, deception, and late-game control, that ranking was catastrophic.
Defenses no longer feared the backfield.
Safeties sat deeper.
Pass rushers pinned their ears back.
And Mahomes — forced to do more with less — paid the ultimate price in December.
A backfield that never stabilized
Kansas City leaned on a patchwork rushing attack:
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Isiah Pacheco, who never fully regained his explosiveness after a fractured fibula and later a sprained MCL
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Kareem Hunt, pushed into a featured role he was never meant to carry
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Rookie Brashard Smith, learning on the fly
Pacheco and Hunt are now both set to hit free agency, leaving the Chiefs with uncertainty — and opportunity.
The result in 2025 was predictable:
no rhythm, no punch, no intimidation.
Why 2026 will look different — by design
The Chiefs aren’t just tweaking personnel.
They’re reshaping philosophy.
The coaching staff has been overhauled:
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Eric Bieniemy returns, bringing a run-centric mindset
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Former NFL star DeMarco Murray takes over RB development
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Chad O’Shea joins to reinforce balance and spacing
This isn’t accidental.
It’s a response.
The interior line is ready to impose its will
If Kansas City is serious about becoming more explosive on the ground, the foundation is already in place.
Veach made that clear.
“We’ve invested in that interior — with Trey Smith and Creed Humphrey, two of the best in the league. We thought Kingsley made a big step.”
That interior trio:
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Creed Humphrey
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Trey Smith
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Kingsley Suamataia
…is now expected to become the engine of the offense.
“Being more explosive in the running game and really taking advantage of those interior three to impose your will on a defense — that’s the goal,” Veach added.
This is no longer a finesse-first Chiefs team.
Everything runs through Mahomes’ recovery
The context matters.
Mahomes is returning from a season-ending ACL/LCL tear. There is no guarantee he will be 100 percent in Week 1 — or even early in the season.
Kansas City cannot survive by asking him to throw 45 times a game again.
The run game is no longer optional.
It’s protective armor.
What happens next
With no established lead back on the roster, the Chiefs are expected to:
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Aggressively scout running backs at the NFL Combine
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Evaluate a deep free-agent RB market
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Prioritize speed, burst, and pass-catching ability
Veach and Andy Reid have already aligned publicly and privately:
2026 success starts in the backfield.
Final word: this is a warning shot
The Chiefs aren’t rebuilding.
They’re correcting course.
After a season that exposed every weakness, Brett Veach has drawn a line in the sand. The days of surviving without an explosive run game are over.
For Kansas City, this offseason is about one thing:
⚡ protecting Mahomes
⚡ restoring balance
⚡ making defenses fear them again
And this time, the message is unmistakable.
The Chiefs will run — or they will fall again.
