The Seahawks have made significant investments in their backfield in recent years. They spent a 2nd-round pick on Kenneth Walker in 2022 and followed that up by taking Zach Charbonnet with a Round 2 pick in the 2023 draft.
It’s fair to say those investments have paid off. Walker has his ups and downs, but he is among the most explosive rushers in the NFL. Charbonnet is a jack of all trades, excelling as a rusher, in pass protection, and as a receiver.
Charbonnet had the best game of his career last week, rushing for 134 yards in his fifth career start. After this performance, he’s in line to get yet another start this week. Let’s dive into the Seahawks’ running back room as they prepare for a Week 15 matchup with the Packers.
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Why isn’t Kenneth Walker playing on Sunday Night Football? Seattle running back’s injury explained
Kenneth Walker has been dealing with a calf injury in recent weeks. This injury kept him sidelined in Week 14, and it appears that he’ll be unavailable once again this week. After failing to appear in any of the Seahawks’ three practice sessions this week, Walker has been listed as “doubtful” for Sunday’s game.
The #Seahawks list RB Kenneth Walker III (calf) as doubtful for Sunday’s game.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 13, 2024
Players are rarely able to overcome a “doubtful” designation, so it would be a surprise to see Walker take the field against the Packers. Ideally, he’ll be able to suit up in Week 16 as Seattle looks to close out the NFC West.
WEEK 15 FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/ST | Kickers
Seahawks RB depth chart
| RB | Player |
| 1 | Kenneth Walker* |
| 2 | Zach Charbonnet |
| 3 | Kenny McIntosh |
* — Unlikely to play due to calf injury
1. Kenneth Walker
Kenneth Walker has operated as the team’s lead back throughout the year, leading the team in carries and rushing yards on the year. Walker has also made significant contributions as a receiver, setting career highs in both receptions and receiving yards despite only playing in 10 games thus far.
Walker’s offensive production will be put on hold as he’s not expected to take the field in Week 15. He’ll have to wait until Week 16 to continue stuffing the stat sheet.
2. Zach Charbonnet
Since being drafted last season, Charbonnet has largely served as a complementary back to Walker. He’s pushed the backfield into a 50-50 split at times but has primarily been Walker’s sidekick over the last two years.
Charbonnet will get the chance to be the star of the show in Week 15 with Walker banged up. If he can put together another strong performance, we could see this backfield operate as a full-blown committee for the rest of the year.
3. Kenny McIntosh
Kenny McIntosh will likely be an afterthought in this game. Charbonnet has typically acted as a bell cow in Walker’s absence, leaving little room for McIntosh to get reps. Expect to see him here and there to spell Charbonnet, but he won’t have much of an impact on the offense.
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Fantasy Football outlook for Zach Charbonnet
As previously mentioned, Charbonnet has seen heavy usage in the games that Walker has missed this season. In three games without Walker this season, Charbonnet has played 87 percent of snaps while garnering 23 touches per game. This is truly elite usage.
Based on volume alone, Charbonnet is a quality RB2 option. The Packers are a middle of the road matchup for running backs, so he doesn’t get a dock or boost based on matchup. Ultimately, Charbonnet comes in as the RB20 in the Sporting News’ RB rankings and belongs in lineups everywhere.