Emmett

Johnson

He added one carry for 15 yards. Johnson racked up the bulk of his production on a 73-yard touchdown grab in the first half. The Broncos sent pressure and Patrick Mahomes perfectly lofted the ball to Johnson, who saw nothing but green grass ahead of him. The turf monster nearly took him down at the 10-yard line, but Johnson stayed upright enough and lost one final defender on his way into the end zone. He also picked up a 38-yard catch just before halftime to set up a last-second field goal. Johnson had more than two touches in just one of his previous three games headed into Week 8. Though he’s not going to challenge Kenneth Walker for RB1 duties anytime soon, this breakout performance should earn him a few more touches in Week 9. He will be have some value as a boom/bust FLEX play versus the Jets.

It was another Ken Walker explosion game (128 yards, two touchdowns on the ground) with Johnson serving as the breather back. Johnson should be rostered as a high-upside contingency option in case Walker misses any time in the coming weeks or months.

Johnson was not targeted in the passing game. His six carries were nothing to sneeze at on an afternoon where the Chiefs were limited to 49 total plays, but that was compared to 20 Kenneth Walker touches. Johnson will have some pop-up standalone value behind workhorse Walker, but he is primarily a contingency option heading into the meat of the fantasy campaign.

Johnson has turned 14 touches into 103 scrimmage yards thus far. Evidently pleased with his fifth-round rookie, Reid wants to keep “allowing Emmett to grow,” in turn taking “a little bit of load off” starting RB Kenneth Walker. Reid notes that Walker wants the ball on every play and is not asking for a lighter workload, but Reid is seeking “a nice balance with those two in there,” which “keeps them even more fresh as the season goes on.” Walker, of course, remains an elite RB1. Johnson, however, should be rostered in all 12-team leagues as a high-upside bench stash that could return standalone value before long.

Demercado’s departure leaves rookie RB Emmett Johnson and second-year RB Brashard Smith to back up starting RB Kenneth Walker. The Chiefs also waived DE Vincent Anthony, LB Kam Arnold, WR Andrew Armstrong, WR Wesley Bissainthe, DT Cole Brevard, WR Jason Brownlee, WR Jacob De Jesus, OT Ethan Driskell, WR Omari Evans, OT Chukwuebuka Godrick, LB Cam Jones, WR Xavier Loyd, S Tanner McCalister, DT Amari McNeill, C Pete Nygra, RB Jaydn Ott, DT Damon Payne, CB D’Arco Perkins-McAllister, TE Mason Pline, S DeShon Singleton, CB Melvin Smith, EDGE Tyreke Smith, OG Josh Thompson, CB Zelmar Vedder, TE Tre Watson and WR Jeff Weimer. The Chiefs released LB Cole Christiansen, CB Kaiir Elam, CB Kader Kohou and EDGE Emmanuel Ogbah. The Chiefs placed DT Omarr Norman-Lott (knee) on the reserve/physically unable to play list and WR Jimmy Holiday on injured reserve. The Chiefs also waived OG C.J. Hanson, QB Chris Oladokun and RB EJ Smith with injury designations.

Johnson added two catches for 15 yards and had another chunk gain through the air called back because of a penalty. Kenneth Walker didn’t play in this contest, allowing Johnson to draw the start with some of KC’s first-team offense on the field. Johnson split reps with Emari Demercado over the team’s first three drives, then left the game for good. He looks like the team’s No. 2 back, though all three backs have been the next man up behind Walker at some point during the preseason. Johnson isn’t guaranteed the backup job, but he’s now the favorite, putting him in the mix as a late-round flyer in deeper fantasy leagues.

Johnson had 12 carries for 59 yards and three catches for 10 yards against the Rams. While we’ve seen a little camp buzz about Johnson, The Athletic’s Jesse Newell presents this as a step forward for Johnson who “has been running with the fourth-string offense most of training camp.” He’s still probably the best back to have rostered in the event of a Kenneth Walker injury, but this isn’t such an important role that the backup necessarily needs to be rostered in standard redraft leagues.

Breer refers to RB Kenneth Walker as an “every-down” player, says RB Brashard Smith “has already shown he can be a weapon in space,” and notes RB Emari Demercado adds depth. Perhaps taking on a change-of-pace rushing role is in play for Johnson this season. The rookie back has pass-catching experience as well, but Smith and Demercado could offer more in that department at the moment. Johnson could be the next player up if Walker were to miss time.

The currently-murky situation behind Kenneth Walker includes the rookie Johnson, veteran receiving back Emari Demercado, and Player Who Is Nominally A Running Back Brashard Smith. The fifth-round pick sure seems like the best play here over the long-term, but if Johnson can win the No. 2 role out of camp, he’d hold some stash fantasy value behind Walker.

Goldman added that the team is “very high” on Demercado before noting his spot as the No. 2 back in every drill of note during OTAs. The Chiefs signed Demercado to a one-year deal this offseason to back up Kenneth Walker. They also added Emmet Johnson in the fifth round of the draft, but it sounds like the veteran has the inside track to backup duties right now. Demercado could also operate as the team’s primary back on passing downs, giving him some extra juice in PPR formats.