How Will Seahawks Handle Running Backs Rashaad Penny and Kenneth Walker?

With Chris Carson retiring, Seattle’s backfield looks like a committee of two.

Seattle running back Chris Carson announced Tuesday he will be retiring due to a chronic neck injury after five seasons in the NFL.

The 27-year-old out of Oklahoma State was one of the league’s fiercest runners when healthy. Carson rushed for 1,100-plus yards in both 2018 and 2019, but the neck injury limited him to only four games in 2021.

This is a blow to the Seahawks backfield, but not an unexpected one. Seattle prepared by drafting Kenneth Walker III in the second round of the NFL draft after signing Rashaad Penny to a one-year, $5.75-million contract in March.

Penny should start the season as the lead back for the Seahawks. Fantasy managers may recall the waiver wire darling led the league in rushing yards and fantasy points at the RB position over the final five weeks of the 2021 season. Penny led the league in efficiency, averaging 6.3 yards per carry across 10 games played. Penny has long been considered an elite talent, but his career has been mired with injury. We have yet to see a full healthy season from Penny, but it’s clear he has the ability to lead this backfield. Early expectations are for Penny to see 20-plus touches per game, and the Seahawks will likely run him until the wheels fall off. We know Pete Carroll loves to run the ball, and with uncertainty at quarterback now that Russell Wilson is in Denver, Penny looks like a great value going in the eighth round in early fantasy drafts.

Rookie Kenneth Walker is being drafted ahead of Penny, usually as early as the seventh round. The Seahawks are likely betting that his fresh legs and talent could take over as the season grinds on. The rookie out of Michigan State rushed for 1,634 yards in 2021 and logged the second-most forced missed tackles (second only to Breece Hall) across his last two seasons of college play (Wake Forest and Michigan State). He has an impressive size/speed combo, coming it at 211 pounds and running the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds at this year’s combine. The knock on Walker is his lack of experience in the passing game. Across three seasons of college play, Walker only caught 19 passes. As Seattle finished last in targets to the RB position in 2021, perhaps this isn’t a concern for the Seahawks. The Seahawks rushed on 43.4% of plays in 2021 (13th).

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Going even deeper into this backfield, DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer round out the running back room. Dallas and Homer will be in the mix for third-down snaps.

Overall, there are so many questions about this Seattle team – with Drew Lock and Geno Smith being the candidates to start at quarterback -- it’s tough to take any running back at a high cost. It will likely be a committee, though the mix is unclear, and with the quarterback uncertaintly, Seattle projects to be an underwhelming offense. If you’re waiting on RBs in your draft, both Walker and Penny are good choices with high ceilings, but a questionable floor.

Walker is currently +1000 to take Rookie of the Year honors at SISB.