5 Best Running Backs in Kansas City Chiefs History
While the list of the greatest Kansas City wide receivers in team history lacks a bit compared to other teams in the NFL, there's no such doubt about its running backs.
At different points in time, the top three on this list could all have been considered the best running back in the NFL during a particular season. Then, the bottom of the list holds an NFL legend and a Chiefs icon.
They don't come much deeper -- or more fun -- than the list of the five greatest Kansas City Chiefs running backs in history.
5. Marcus Allen (1993-1997)
Allen was 33 years old when he joined the Chiefs in 1993, having already put together an extraordinary career with the Raiders over the previous 11 seasons. That he managed another five seasons of solid production at that point in his career is borderline unheard of.
A two-time Most Valuable Player while in Los Angeles, Allen made just one Pro Bowl with the Chiefs, but it was mighty. He finished sixth in MVP voting in his first season upon arrival, leading the league with 12 rushing touchdowns while going for 764 yards on the ground.
By the time he called it a career after 1997, Allen had run for the fourth-most yards in franchise history and led the team in rushing touchdowns.
4. Christian Okoye (1987-1992)
The Chiefs picked up Allen in large part because they had lost Okoye. Bothered by knee injuries since 1990, Okoye decided he was done after the 1992 season, having played six years in the NFL, all with Kansas City.
They were an impressive six years, as anybody who has played "Tecmo Super Bowl" can tell you. Okoye led the NFL in yards rushing in 1989, going for 1,480 with 12 touchdowns, earning first-team All-Pro honors. He hit the 1,000-yard mark again in 1991 and still ranks fourth in team history in both yardage (4,897) and scores (40).
3. Larry Johnson (2003-2009)
While his career was relatively short, it was sweet as the two greatest rushing seasons in Chiefs history belong to Johnson. He served in a three-headed monster group with Derrick Blaylock and the No. 2 player on this list in 2004 before taking over as the most dominant back in the NFL for those two years.
Johnson ran for 1,750 yards with 20 touchdowns in 2005 and made second-team All-Pro. The next year, he re-set the franchise record with 1,789 yards while going for 17 scores.
Things became awfully ugly after that as he held out for a new contract, got injured, was charged with simple assault of a woman, and used slurs on Twitter. By 2009, the Chiefs had had enough and he was waived.
2. Jamaal Charles (2008-2016)
The Chiefs' all-time leader in yards rushing, Charles might have even more than the 7,260 he collected in Kansas City had he not missed 14 games in 2011 during the heart of his brilliant stint. As it remains, Charles still leads the team in most 1,000-yard seasons, collecting five in six years from 2009 to 2014.
He was a first-team All-Pro in both 2010 and 2013. In 2012, Charles was coming off that ACL injury and ran for a career-high 1,509 yards while earning third in Comeback Player of the Year voting and being named second-team All-Pro.
1. Priest Holmes (2001-2007)
A former Texas Longhorns running back, like Charles, Holmes is a legend in both Austin and Kansas City. And at the peak of his powers, no Chiefs running back has ever been better than he.
Holmes ranks behind Charles, in second, for the all-time franchise rushing total. But from 2001 to 2003, after joining the Chiefs from Baltimore, Holmes had a case as not only the best back in the NFL, but the best player, period. He ran for 4,590 yards over those three seasons with an astounding 56 touchdowns, including leading the league twice, totaling 21 and 27. The 27 in 2003 still ranks in a tie for second all-time.
Holmes made three first-team All-Pro teams and finished top five in MVP voting twice while earning Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2002. His 76 rushing touchdowns are 19 more than Johnson, who sits in second place.
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This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 1:27 PM.