Seahawks take RB in 2nd round again with UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet

Two years in the row, the Seattle Seahawks have had two second-round picks. And two years in a row, the Seahawks have selected a running back with the second of those second-rounders.

Seattle Seahawks Draft Breakdown: A look at every 2023 NFL Draft pick

This year, that choice at No. 52 overall is UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet, who, like Seattle’s running back selection in 2022 – Kenneth Walker Jr. – has been a favorite of Seattle Sports’ Brock Huard in the run up to the draft.

“I want the guy that their teammates called ‘The Terminator,’” said Huard, a former NFL quarterback who now calls college football games for FOX, on Friday’s edition of Brock and Salk. “… He is a relentless, detailed, disciplined worker.”

And. He's. Gone.

That's 3 TDs for @zachcharbon today!

📺: Pac-12 Network
📱: https://t.co/BnkI3ubCQb#GoBruins | @UCLAFootball pic.twitter.com/VUw0X0hSIl

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) September 24, 2022

According to Huard, the 6-foot, 214-pound Charbonnet has the kind of running style the Seahawks are known to prefer. In his draft profile of Charbonnet earlier this month, Huard compared him to Seahawks legend Marshawn Lynch, aka “Beast Mode,” as well as former 49ers standout Roger Craig.

“‘Beast Mode’ was a gyro ball,” Huard said at the same. “He had a wide stance… You couldn’t tackle him. Charbonnet is a little more Roger Craig. Not quite as high a knee, but a similar upright (running style) and just an explosive sucker. They’re distinct, they love ball.”

Fellow Seattle Sports host Michael Bumpus, a former NFL wide receiver who is an analyst for the Pac-12 Network, is also a fan as Charbonnet as he shared during Seattle Sports’ draft coverage following the Hawks’ selection of the running back. Watch that in the video below:

Charbonnet comes from the Los Angeles area and transferred to UCLA after two years at Michigan. He was first team All-Pac 12 and a second team All-America pick by The Associated Press as a senior in 2022 after rushing for 1,359 yards and 14 touchdowns on 195 carries, which was an average of 7 yards per carry.

Charbonnet joins Walker in a talented backfield tandem for Seattle. Walker, who was a finalist for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, was the Seahawks’ second pick of the second round last year following pass rusher Boye Maye. That’s the exact same pattern Seattle has taken on Day 2 of this year with Auburn pass rusher Derick Hall picked by the Hawks at No. 37 overall ahead of Charbonnet.

Seattle had a need at running back following the departures of Rashaad Penny (Philadelphia) and Travis Homer (Chicago) in free agency. The Seahawks also still have pass-catching back DeeJay Dallas on their depth chart.

2023 Seattle Seahawks draft picks

• First round (5th overall): Illinois CB Devon Witherspoon
• First round (20th overall): Ohio State WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
• Second round (37th overall): Auburn edge Derick Hall
• Second round (52nd overall): UCLA RB Zach Charbonnet
• Fourth round (108th overall): LSU guard Anthony Bradford
• Fourth round (123rd overall): Mississippi State defensive tackle Cameron Young
• Fifth round (151st overall): Michigan edge Mike Morris
• Fifth round (15th overall): Michigan center Olusegun Oluwatimi
• Sixth round (198th overall): New Mexico safety Jerrick Reed II
• Seventh round (237th overall): Georgia RB Kenny McIntosh

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