Kenneth Walker

Teams don't draft running backs in the second round with the idea of them being backups forever, but it's not obvious what will give in the competition between Walker (2022) and fellow second-round pick Zach Charbonnet (2023). The two were not close in 2023; Walker was far and away the Seahawks' preferred runner, to the point that they fed him carries even when he could barely practice because of oblique and shoulder issues in the second half of the season. While the two finished the year with similar snap counts (Walker: 476, Charbonnet: 454), the rookie was mostly used on pass plays and had less than half as many carries (108 to Walker's 219) despite playing one more game (16 to 15). Perhaps Charbonnet will close that gap going into his second year, after averaging just 5.4 carries in the 14 games both he and Walker played last year. Walker is the faster of the two and more densely built (four inches shorter yet only three pounds lighter), but the Seahawks seem to trust Charbonnet more as a blocker/receiver, and he was no slouch running the ball at UCLA (2,496 rushing yards, 27 TDs in two seasons). Walker was even more productive in his one year at Michigan State (1,636 yards, 18 TDs), and he's subsequently proven himself at the next level with 1,955 rushing yards in two season, including better work as a situational runner/chain-mover in 2023 after his rookie year was defined by a mix of long runs and frequent stuffs.