INDIANAPOLIS — Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid has said repeatedly this offseason that the Chiefs won’t completely overhaul their offensive scheme after a disappointing 6-11 season.

There could be at least one alteration coming, though, with general manager Brett Veach seeming to hint at it during Tuesday’s interview session at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Here’s the backdrop: When asked to evaluate his team’s top offensive weakness on Tuesday, Veach spoke about the ground attack.

“Certainly, we want to get more explosive in the running game. We’ve invested in that interior,” Veach said. “With (right guard) Trey Smith and (center) Creed Humphrey — two of the best in the league — and we thought (left guard) Kingsley (Suamataia) made a big step.”

This emphasis shouldn’t be a shock. K.C. had just one 20-plus-yard rush by a running back last season, while easily ranking at the bottom of the NFL when it came to chunk carries.

The Chiefs are expected to be in the market for immediate help at the position. That should start with free agency, where a talent-rich class should allow them — even on a limited budget — to find someone who could step in as an immediate starter.

Interestingly, though, Veach’s focus on Tuesday wasn’t on that part of the personnel equation when discussing how the Chiefs’ run game could improve. Instead, his words centered on how the Chiefs could lean more into their offensive line.

“Those are three talented interior players,” Veach said. “So I think, and we’ve talked about it — Coach (Andy Reid) has done an amazing job with his staff cranking on that scheme eval — but I think being more explosive in the running game and really taking advantage of those interior three to impose your will on an opposing team’s defense.”

Connect the dots here, and one can see how the Chiefs might shift in 2026.

If the team wants an “impose your will” type of run game, it will need to let its offensive linemen fire off the ball so they can play aggressively.

And that means, more than likely, the team would need to shift away from primarily living in a “run-pass option” world — a setup that requires blockers to hang around the line of scrimmage for fear of getting a penalty if they venture too far downfield.

The Chiefs — for good reason — have been among the NFL’s top run-pass option (RPO) teams for a while. According to Sports Info Solutions, their 155 RPO runs last season were the most by any NFL team; K.C. also led the league with 168 RPO runs in 2024.

These play calls have made sense in the past because they cater to quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ skill set. Mahomes’ strength is his quick processing, and his rare ability to throw off-platform quickly and from different arm angles has served him well as he’s carved up opposing defenses in the RPO pass game.

Getting those benefits, though, also meant the Chiefs were giving something back when they chose to hand it off. The team’s RPO runs weren’t particularly effective in 2025, per Sports Info Solutions, averaging 3.7 yards per carry (27th) and negative-0.11 expected points per attempt (26th).

It’s this type of analysis that Reid could be digging into as Chiefs coaches go through additional scheme evaluations after their season’s early end. RPOs are certainly a stylistic choice; though the Chiefs had 155 RPO runs, a few other successful offenses, including the 49ers (12) and Rams (nine), barely used them at all.

Big picture, Veach said that the Chiefs’ revamping their ground game could go a long way toward offensive improvement in 2026.

“The running game takes a lot of pressure off of everybody,” Veach said. “So I think if we can be more explosive and more effective in the running game, obviously we can take a lot of pressure off Pat, especially coming back early in the season with the injury.”