We value Walker as a high-end flex who should be drafted some time after the fourth round. In his rookie season, he was the prototypical big-play back. Among players who ran the ball at least 100 times last year, only James Robinson had a higher percentage of his carries go for zero or negative yards. But Walker was also one of eight backs who saw at least 10% of his rushes go for 12-plus yards. The Seahawks brought in Zach Charbonnet to share the load, which should terrify Walker's Fantasy managers. Charbonnet profiles as being better both in the passing game and on short yardage eventually. If both of these backs stay healthy, it's hard to see how either finishes in the top 20 this year. They are both more desirable in Dynasty.
Walker had 17 carries for 79 yards and a touchdown in Monday's 24-3 win over the Giants.
Walker's short touchdown run in the second quarter extended his scoring streak to three weeks, providing fantasy managers with 289 combined yards and a whopping five touchdowns over that period. The 22-year-old was not targeted as a receiver against the Giants, but he commanded 17 of the Seahawk's 22 running back carries in the primetime win. Walker will get an opportunity to rest from his scoring frenzy on Seattle's upcoming bye week, resuming play Week 6 at Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 15
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Seahawks' Kenneth Walker: Scores two TDs against Carolina
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Walker carried the ball 18 times for 97 yards and two touchdowns and caught all three of his targets for 59 yards in Sunday's 37-27 win over the Panthers.
Both TDs came in the second half as the Seahawks pulled away, with Walker getting into the end zone on a one-yard plunge in the third quarter and a seven-yard run in the fourth. His 59 receiving yards were also a career high, topping the 55 yards he hauled in last year in Week 10. Walker appears headed for another productive day in Week 4 against a Giants defense that's allowed four rushing touchdowns to running backs through its first three games.
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Seahawks' Kenneth Walker: Finds end zone twice in win
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Walker rushed 17 times for 43 yards and two touchdowns and brought in one of two targets for 11 yards in the Seahawks' 37-31 overtime win over the Lions on Sunday.
Walker encountered tough sledding on the ground against what definitely appears to be an improved Lions run defense, but he made up for it from a fantasy perspective by scoring one- and three-yard touchdowns. He's been the clear lead back in Seattle's ground attack over the first two games, and on Sunday, he outpaced rookie Zach Charbonnet by 13 carries. Walker will next set his sights on the Panthers, who'll come into town for a Week 3 matchup.
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Seahawks' Kenneth Walker: Cleared for Week 1 takeoff
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Walker (groin) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game against the Rams, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic reports.
There was some concern Thursday after the Seahawks added him to the injury report as a limited participant with a groin injury. Walker missed part of training camp with a groin issue, but that was in late July and early August before he came back in mid-August with no reports of a setback or incident. He's expected to lead the Seattle rushing attack again, though he'll have to look over his shoulder after the team used a second-round pick on a running back for the second straight offseason, bringing in Zach Charbonnet to join Walker in the backfield.
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Seahawks' Kenneth Walker: Still dealing with groin injury
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Walker was limited at Thursday's practice due to a groin injury, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic reports.
Walker spent training camp tending to a minor groin strain, which kept him on the sidelines for the entire preseason slate. He eventually logged a full practice on Aug. 17 and even kicked off Week 1 prep with a similar session, but the injury clearly isn't behind him on the eve of the regular season. Thursday's limitations may have been a precautionary measure, but Walker's status on Friday's practice report will be one to watch out for to see if he enters the weekend as questionable.
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Seahawks' Kenneth Walker: Slated to start
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Walker is listed as the Seahawks' starting running back on the team's initial Week 1 depth chart.
Walker dealt with a groin injury to start training camp, but he returned to full practices before the third preseason game. He didn't play at all during the preseason as a precaution. The second-year running back faced competition from rookie second-round pick Zach Charbonnet during camp, but Walker appears set to head into the Sept. 10 opener versus the Rams as the No. 1 back. Waker's placement on the depth chart isn't surprising after he rushed for 1,050 yards and nine touchdowns on 228 carries (4.6 YPC) as a rookie. As long as he remains productive, Walker should retain the edge over Charbonnet in terms of playing time out of the backfield.
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Seahawks' Kenneth Walker: Logs full practice Thursday
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Coach Pete Carroll said Walker (groin) participated fully at Thursday's practice, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times reports.
Walker has been dealing with a minor groin strain since the first day of training camp. After returning to practice this past Saturday, he was spotted working in individual and blocking drills Wednesday, but team drills weren't on the docket for him until Thursday, per Curtis Crabtree of Fox 13 Seattle. It's unclear if the Seahawks will clear Walker to play in Saturday's preseason game against the Cowboys, but such a decision may not beome known until shortly before the 10:00 p.m. ET kickoff.
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Seahawks' Kenneth Walker: Team drills still to come
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Walker (groin) practiced Wednesday but didn't mix into any team drills, Curtis Crabtree of Fox 13 Seattle reports.
Walker was in a helmet before practice and proceeded to take part in individual work and blocking drills, per Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times. However, Walker has yet to be cleared for all activities since returning to practice Saturday. Given that head coach Pete Carroll called Walker "week-to-week" when the running back initially suffered a minor groin strain in the first practice of training camp, the Seahawks likely will continue to take things slow with the second-year pro with an eye toward Week 1. In the meantime, rookie second-round pick Zach Charbonnet and DeeJay Dallas represent the top healthy backfield options for Seattle.
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Seahawks' Kenneth Walker: Back at practice Saturday
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Walker (groin) returned to practice Saturday, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com reports.
Sidelined since the first day of Seahawks training camp due to a minor groin strain, Walker didn't suit up for the team's first preseason contest Thursday, which allowed rookie second-rounder Zach Charbonnet to get some run. Walker was contained to individual work Saturday, so he may need to progress to team drills in order to gain clearance to play in one of the final two exhibitions, the first of which comes Saturday, Aug. 19 against the Cowboys.
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Seahawks' Kenneth Walker: Not practicing yet
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Walker (groin) is present at Thursday's practice but doesn't have a helmet, Bridget Condon of NFL Network reports.
Walker has been out for about a week now, which coach Pete Carroll using the term "week-to-week" to describe his status Monday. Meanwhile, fellow running back Zach Charbonnet (shoulder) is back in action sooner than expected after missing only three practices, giving him a nice opportunity to take more snaps with the starters while Walker remains limited to observing from the sideline.
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Seahawks' Kenneth Walker: Called week-to-week by coach
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Coach Pete Carroll labeled Walker (groin) week-to-week Monday, Kevin Patra of NFL.com reports.
Carroll said the team is taking a cautious approach with Walker and fellow injured running back Zach Charbonnet (shoulder) to avoid exacerbating their injuries. While Seattle's top two running backs heal, DeeJay Dallas and Kenny McIntosh will have more prominent roles in practice. We may not see Walker in a game situation until Week 1 against the Rams on Sunday, Sept. 10.
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Seahawks' Kenneth Walker: Dealing with minor groin strain
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Coach Pete Carroll said Sunday that Walker has been held out of practice over the past few days due to a minor groin strain, Curtis Crabtree of Fox 13 Seattle reports.
Walker missed a third consecutive day of practice Sunday, but his absence has been deemed precautionary, as Carroll said the team is holding the running back out to prevent a more significant injury. Although Carroll downplayed the severity of Walker's issue Sunday, he indicated that he could be out a while. Carroll also said that Zach Charbonnet (shoulder) will be out indefinitely, so DeeJay Dallas and Kenny McIntosh will likely see increased work at camp in the near future. Walker's availability for Seattle's preseason opener against the Vikings on Aug. 10 remains to be seen.
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Seahawks' Kenneth Walker: Challenged by Charbonnet
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Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Monday that Walker and rookie Zach Charbonnet "will be battling", Seattle Sports 770 reports. "We're gonna find out how far [Charbonnet] can take it in terms of the receiving part of it," Carroll said. "We know he's really good at it. But so is Kenneth, so those guys will be battling."
It isn't quite clear from Carroll's comment if he's referring to competing for playing time in general or specifically on passing downs. Charbonnet, an incoming second-round pick, caught 61 passes in two seasons at UCLA, whereas Walker (a 2022 second-rounder) had only 19 receptions in three seasons between Wake Forest and MSU. Walker did catch 27 balls as a rookie, though for only 165 yards (6.1 per catch, 4.7 YPT) while doing nearly all of his damage on the ground to the tune of a 228-1,050-9 rushing line. The impressive running makes him a strong favorite to keep the starting job and lead role, but there's no question a prospect of Charbonnet's caliber poses a threat to Walker's touch volume. A split between the two could be problematic for fantasy managers, especially if the Seahawks settle on DeeJay Dallas or seventh-round rookie Kenny McIntosh as their third-down/hurry-up specialist ahead of Walker or Charbonnet.
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Seahawks' Kenneth Walker: Ready for wild-card round
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Walker (ankle) doesn't have a designation for Saturday's wild-card game at San Francisco, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.
Walker avoided Seattle's first injury report of the week entirely Tuesday before showing up one day later as a non-participant due to the ankle injury that has lingered since early December. With his status cleared up ahead of the weekend, though, Wednesday's absence clearly was maintenance-based, likely to keep the rookie second-round pick as healthy as possible. Walker thus is set to lead the team's backfield Saturday, which has resulted in 98 touches for 450 yards from scrimmage and no TDs over the last four contests.
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Seahawks' Kenneth Walker: No practice yet this week
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Walker (ankle/illness) was held out of Thursday's practice, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.
It's uncertain whether a lingering ankle concern, an illness or a combination of the two are keeping Walker sidelined this week, but he has yet to log any activity after two sessions. The same can be said for fellow running backs Travis Homer (ankle) and DeeJay Dallas (ankle), so the situation in the Seahawks backfield remains in flux with just one more chance to practice during Week 18 prep. Friday's injury report will unveil if any of the trio sidestep a designation ahead of Sunday's game versus the Rams. However, if Walker is able to suit up for the 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff, he's the likely candidate to handle the majority of RB reps after posting back-to-back 100-yard performances on the ground.
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Seahawks' Kenneth Walker: No practice Wednesday
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Walker didn't practice Wednesday due to an ankle injury and an illness, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times reports.
The Seahawks have been especially cautious with Walker since he sustained an ankle injury Week 13 at the Rams. He sat out Week 14 against the Panthers, but he's played in each of the last three games despite not logging many, if any, practice reps before those kickoffs. Overall, the rookie second-round pick has racked up 68 touches for 326 yards from scrimmage during that stretch, including back-to-back 100-yard efforts on the ground. Fellow running backs Travis Homer (ankle) and DeeJay Dallas (ankle) also sat out Wednesday's session, so the trio will be watched as the weekend approaches to see how Seattle's backfield may break down Sunday versus the Rams.
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Seahawks' Kenneth Walker: Expected to play
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Coach Pete Carroll said Friday that Walker (ankle) is expected to play and should have "fresh legs" for Sunday's game against the Jets, Curtis Crabtree of Fox 13 Seattle reports.
The rookie officially is listed as questionable after not practicing Wednesday and being limited Thursday and Friday. It sounds like his availability won't actually come down to the 4:05 p.m. ET kickoff, though cautious fantasy managers may want to keep a distant eye on the situation anyway given some of the injury shenanigans that have come out of Seattle the past few years. Walker played through the same ankle injury last week and took 28 touches for 105 yards in a loss to the Chiefs after being listed as questionable on the final injury report.
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Seahawks' Kenneth Walker: Listed as questionable
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Walker (ankle) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Jets, Curtis Crabtree of Fox 13 Seattle reports.
Gregg Bell of The Tacoma News Tribune suggests Walker and WR Tyler Lockett (questionable, hand) both are likely to play with the Seahawks battling for a wild-card spot, though it is possible neither is at his best. Walker played through the same ankle injury last week and took 28 touches for 105 yards from scrimmage in a loss to the Chiefs, so he figures to give it another go ahead of Sunday's 4:05 p.m. ET kickoff Sunday.
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Seahawks' Kenneth Walker: No practice Wednesday
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Walker (ankle) was held out of Wednesday's practice, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.
Walker also didn't practice last week due to the same listed injury before suiting up Saturday in Kansas City and pacing the Seahawks backfield to the tune of 53 percent of the snaps and 28 touches for 105 yards from scrimmage. The rest of Seattle's running backs (DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer) combined for 36 plays and eight touches, so Walker clearly is the team's top option on the ground if he's available. Gregg Bell of The Tacoma News Tribune suggested the Seahawks are limiting Walker's on-field work during the week to ensure he can play on game days, but the rookie's status will still be one watch closely ahead of Sunday's contest against the Jets.
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Seahawks' Kenneth Walker III: RBs to Start
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Walker returned from his one-game absence with an ankle injury in Week 15 against San Francisco and did OK with 11 PPR points, including four catches for 32 yards. His ankle is still an issue since he missed practice Tuesday, but all indications are he'll play in Week 16 at Kansas City. I expect him to perform well, and you should use Walker as a No. 2 running back in all leagues. His role in the passing game could be vital this week since Tyler Lockett (finger) is out, and the Chiefs allow the most receptions to running backs this season with 88. They also are second in receiving yards allowed to running backs (675), and 13 running backs have scored at least six PPR points with just their receiving totals alone against Kansas City this year. Walker has at least three catches in three of his past four full games, and hopefully Geno Smith throws him the ball a lot in this contest.
