Fantasy Football Managers Should Panic About the Limited Output of Kenneth Walker
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The Seattle Seahawks have been surging to dominance all season long. A team that was a playoff hopeful has become a true NFC contender in the span of six weeks. That is what good coaching and GM work can do. This team was thought to be dominant best so in the run, but that has not quite been the case. In fact, Sam Darnold is performing to elite numbers and their passing game is what has been elite. Meanwhile, they have a running back competition flipping on its head. Kenneth Walker III has been struggling, laying way to Zach Charbonnet. So, should we feel panicked?
2025 Stats: Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet
This is a very unique situation. Charbonnet was expected to be the valuable backup to Walker, but the opposite has occurred. Charbonnet has missed one game this year and is still out snapping Walker 164-153. Charbonnet is averaging 55% of team running back snaps per game, while Walker is at 42%.
Where this gets weird is where Walker is averaging 4.7 Yards per Carry, but Charbonnet is at a very poor 2.6 Yards per Carry. Despite being out snapped, Walker is the RB21 while Charbonnet is the RB39 (he did miss one game).
Zach Charbonnet ranks DEAD LAST in YPC among qualified rushers (2.6)
— Underdog (@Underdog) October 13, 2025
He has led the backfield in carries across the last two weeks 🫥
FREE KENNETH WALKER 😭 pic.twitter.com/2S9q8B3UFd
Why Charbonnet is the Lead-Back in Seattle
To be clear, Charbonnet is not quite the lead back. He has a higher snap-load, but by a small margin. For any coach to get the split to exactly 50/50 would be very meticulous. However, there were rumors floating in the preseason that the team viewed Charbonnet as the better back of the two. These were rumors, but they seem to be playing out in a minor fashion.
Klint Kubiak believes in a dual running back system and so this is playing out. This will also continue to play out, so the upside on either back should remain limited so long they are both healthy.
Should You Panic About Kenneth Walker?
Walker is currently the RB21. However, he was drafted as the RB14. This proves that despite being healthy, he is not meeting his value. That raises some concern considering the fact that Seattle is 5-1 and thriving. If Walker is not meeting his value at this point in time, there isn't much reason for him to trend upwards.
The only way Walker trends upwards is if A.) the team lowers their trust in Charbonnet. This does not project to happen anytime soon, if at all. It would trend upwards as well if B.) Charbonnet got hurt, which can happen to anyone and is a pure hypothetical.
As for now, I do not see a high ceiling on Walker. He has one of the lower ceiling among all RB2's, in which Walker is one. On a weekly basis, you are playing him for safe output, no upside. Perhaps he can be dealt for a higher upside player, but I would be panicked that I will never find value given his 2025 ADP.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.