Three Running Backs the Seahawks Should Target in the 2026 NFL Draft

With the writing on the wall as it concerns Ken Walker’s upcoming free agency and Zach Charbonnet likely on ice for much of 2026, here are my ideas.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons running back Demond Claiborne (1) runs the ball during the first quarter. | Melina Myers-Imagn Images

The Seattle Seahawks will need to dive into the running back position during the NFL Draft this spring.

Ken Walker is almost certainly gone next week, and I feel like there’s nothing to gain by pretending otherwise. Zach Charbonnet will likely return around the midpoint of the season, and there are real questions about what he’ll be able to do when he does come back. Kenny McIntosh is intriguing but has already had two major injuries in his short NFL career.

The Seahawks need a complete overhaul in the backfield. There are already indications that they’re going to attack the need in free agency, with reports linking them to Brian Robinson Jr and Tyler Allgeier. That’s all well and good, although I admit it’s not overly exciting, but it seems to me that a running back room containing those two severely lacks one thing: speed.

Robinson and Allgeier are both around 225 pounds and tend to act as more of a blunt instrument on the football field. Allgeier in particular is a bruiser, meant for work between the tackles. Robinson offers a little bit more, but is still ultimately more of a power back than anything else. If this is the future for the Seahawks, they need a third back with more gas.

It’s not easy to find those guys, but here’s the best I can do. Three running backs that the Seahawks can actually draft (meaning no Jeremiyah Love) who might work in a three-headed backfield with those two players.

Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price (24), on his way to score a touchdown. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jadarian Price

I wouldn’t exactly call him a speedster, but I still think he’s more of a speed threat than many of the backs in this class. You’ll have to hold your breath a bit on him making it down to the No. 64 pick, but Price is surprisingly slippery and knows how to hit a cut decisively. He may not get through the hole as fast as you’d prefer, but Price is a workable consolation for this team.

Demond Claiborne

If any back in this draft screams ‘Ken Walker lite’ to me, it’s Claiborne. A 4.37 40 time at the combine turned heads, and while he doesn’t have the fast acceleration of K9, you will notice bits and pieces of him in his elusiveness and open-field creativity. Sometimes, like Walker, the creativity is a little too much, but he’s a good compliment to the thumpers Seattle may get.

Mike Washington Jr.

Arkansas Razorbacks running back Mike Washington Jr (4) rushes for a touchdown during the third quarter. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

To me, the most fascinating back in this draft class, and someone I almost expect to get overdrafted due to his potential. Washington is big, weighing about the same as the aforementioned Allgeier and Robinson, but adds elite speed and athleticism that makes him an extremely rare prospect. It’s a combination of traits that would usually put someone in the first.

But Washington combines these traits with some work to do when it comes to feel for playing the position. He occasionally hesitates too much, isn’t giving much on third down as a receiver or blocker, and also has a fumble problem. How fast can he learn, and will it be fast enough to help the 2026 Seahawks? That’s a call for John Schneider and Mike Macdonald to make.

— Enjoy free coverage of the Super Bowl champions from Seattle Seahawks On SI —

Sign Up For the Seahawks Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Seattle Seahawks Newsletter