How should Seahawks approach RBs in 2025?

The Seattle Seahawks have an interesting situation developing in their backfield.

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The Seahawks entered the 2024 season with third-year pro Kenneth Walker III as their clear No. 1 running back, but it appears that may not be the case in 2025.

After an impressive first two seasons, Walker battled injuries and had his least productive season as a pro in year three. Meanwhile, second-year running back Zach Charbonnet emerged with strong performances in Walker’s absence.

The team ran the ball more effectively when Charbonnet was the feature back. In 11 games with Walker, the Seahawks averaged 88.8 rushing yards game. In the six games without him, they averaged 108.3 rushing yards per game.

The improved performance of the run game with Charbonnet leading the way sparked some debate as to whether Charbonnet’s physical, downhill running style is a better fit for Seattle’s offense than the elusive Walker.

Walker has the ability to break big runs at any moment due to electric his speed and agility, but it can lead to east and west running that sacrifices gainable yards in search of the big play. The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen had an interesting player comparison for Walker when he joined Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on Tuesday.

“I call him the Russell Wilson of running backs, because he’s gonna make those spectacular plays, but he does it in his own way and unorthodox way, and sometimes that leads to negative plays that you don’t want as well,” Nguyen said. “But if he could just be a little bit more disciplined and run where he’s supposed to instead of trying to make a 50-yard run out of every single run, he could be one of the top running backs in the league.”

Seahawks Radio Network analyst and former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus delved further into the conversation surrounding Walker, Charbonnet and the Seahawks’ run game on Wednesday.

“When you are as gifted as Ken Walker, it’s a gift and a curse because you think you can break the big one every single time,” Bumpus said. “You see this when the four and five stars go from high school to college. In high school, you can go left, you can go right, you can stop (and) start, and boom you’re gone. You’re that much better than anyone else. The only people I ever saw while playing in college that were able to do that: Reggie Bush and Desean Jackson. It’s rare that you take that jump from that level and you’re able to (keep doing it). It’s extremely rare to go from college to the NFL and be able to do that.”

Walker’s season

Walker rushed for over 1,000 yards as a rookie and nearly reached the 1,000-yard barrier again in his second campaign. But his 2024 season featured career lows of 573 rushing yards, 3.7 yards per carry and 52.1 rushing yards per game. He rushed for over 100 yards in the season opener, but didn’t reach the mark again.

Some of Walker’s issues could be placed on the offensive line. The Seahawks used a number of different starters up front and struggled in the trenches all season, oftentimes leaving little to no room for backs to work with.

Despite down numbers, Walker was the Seahawks’ top-graded player at any position by Pro Football Focus and ranked seventh among running backs leaguewide.

All aboard the K9 train 🚂 pic.twitter.com/dCv6sT9IWr

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 8, 2024

Improvements down the stretch

The Seahawks finished 28th in the league while averaging 95.7 rushing yards per game. They also ran the ball less than just about any team in the NFL, finishing 29th with 22.5 rushing attempts per game.

However, Seattle churned out 112.6 rushing yards per game and eclipsed 120 yards on the ground three times over its final five games, including a season-best 176 yards in their Week 14 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

The Seahawks’ improved results over the final five weeks were largely without the services of Walker, who played in only one of those games. That game also happened to be their worst game on the ground during that stretch, a 59-yard performance against a stout Minnesota Vikings defense that ranked second in the league against the run.

While Walker was out, Charbonnet shined with a number of strong outings, averaging 76 yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry in the four games Walker missed down the stretch. That included a career-high 134 rushing yards and two TDs against the Cardinals.

Co-host Stacy Rost asked Bumpus if the improved results without Walker were a result of Charbonnet being a better fit or Seattle’s offensive line playing better.

“It’s both, and I think once an offensive line knows that their back is going to give them a chance, they get more motivated,” Bumpus said. “Not to say these guys aren’t going out and playing hard, but you build some chemistry. You feel like you’re going to get positive yardage, you hold your block a bit, you drive the guy into the ground. I think it has to be both.

“Zach Charbonnet (running) straight downhill is the best thing for a run game. Get downhill. Who is the best running back in the game right now? Arguably, it’s Derrick Henry. Why? He’s big as heck and he gets downhill. Saquon Barkley gets downhill, too. Then he looks for the big bounce.”

Charbonnet finished the year with 569 yards and eight TDs rushing while averaging 4.2 yards per carry. He was also more effective at breaking big runs than Walker. According to Pro Football Focus, his 16 carries of at least 10 yards were three more than Walker had.

Charbonnet for 6️⃣#ProBowlVote + Zach Charbonnet pic.twitter.com/OLMXfm38hM

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) December 16, 2024

Bumpus said he would take a running back by committee approach into next season.

“If I’m the OC, I’m saying it’s open,” Bumpus said. “When you get to camp and you put your depth chart together … it’s not Ken (at) one and Zach (at) two. They’re on the same level. We’re gonna split the reps evenly and let’s battle from here. That might do something for Ken Walker. I think he’s a competitor. He might see that and be like, ‘Aye, let’s get it.’”

During Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob on Tuesday, former NFL linebacker Dave Wyman said he saw enough from Charbonnet to feel that the Seahawks could eventually move on from Walker, who will be in the final year of his rookie deal in 2025.

“Charbonnet, he’s the one mostly that makes me think that they could go on without Kenneth Walker,” Wyman said. “And that’s because he just showed so much quickness and burst. It was new to me. What we saw from Zach Charbonnet was him getting settled in to the pro game and really being decisive and displaying his speed.

Listen to the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

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