When your football team starts the season undefeated, people generally notice. On Thursday, the NFL office handed out its September awards, naming two Kansas City Chiefs players AFC Players of the Month.
Rookie Left Tackle Khalil Benson came out of a tryout in May to start the season at left tackle, earning the AFC Rookie of the Month award for his stellar play on the field. Benson’s uncommon path to the NFL doesn’t happen often, but he backed up his lack of NFL experience and outshone every other AFC rookie in September.
He wasn’t the only Chiefs player to earn NFL honors; running back Kenneth Walker received the AFC Player of the Month award for his game-changing performances in September.
Walker leads the NFL with 360 rushing yards. In all, he has four touchdowns in three games: two rushing and two receiving. He’s been the engine behind the Chiefs’ offense, and it’s clear he was the best free-agent signing of the off-season.
Kansas City has never paid a running back, but they made an early flash in free agency, and the Super Bowl LX MVP has fit right into the Andy Reid offense. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes now has an elite running back that will force defenses to hone in on Walker, which means Mahomes doesn’t have to be the magic man every snap.
Benson, who is filling in for the injured Josh Simmons, has done a solid job. Considering he only took a few snaps in the final preseason game against Seattle, he’s looked like an All-Pro filling in for the Chiefs’ 2025 first-round pick. Benson was going to begin the year at right tackle, but Andy Reid put him at left tackle despite veteran Jaylon Moore’s experience at the position.
Moore has been equally good at right tackle, and it’ll be interesting to see what happens at the position when Simmons returns sometime in October. The Chiefs said Simmons has a bulging disc that doesn’t appear to need surgery, so he’ll continue his rehab in Kansas City.
At Wednesday’s press conference, Mahomes said he sees Simmons going through rehab and hopes he can return soon.
