'Business as Usual' For Seattle Seahawks if Ken Walker III Can't Play in New England

In an ideal situation, the Seahawks would have Ken Walker III available in Foxboro, but Ryan Grubb has plenty of confidence in the team's other backs.

Dec 10, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) runs past San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner (54) in the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

RENTON, Wash. - Rushing for over 100 yards and a touchdown in the season opener, the Seattle Seahawks offense ran through running back Ken Walker III in a 26-20 comeback win over the Denver Broncos last Sunday, only for him to exit late in the fourth quarter with an oblique injury.

Considering how Walker shouldered the load for a Seattle offense that couldn't get out of its own way in the first two quarters with an interception and two safeties, one would think offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb may be concerned about the prospects of playing without the star back traveling to New England in Week 2. However, even if he can't suit up, the first-time NFL play caller doesn't think he will need to reinvent the wheel because of the presence of second-year runner Zach Charbonnet.

When asked after Thursday's practice on whether or not Walker being absent would change the Seahawks offense, Grubb downplayed the notion, telling reporters that he sees Charbonnet as a similar player who offers many of the same strengths out of the backfield.

"I think Charb has a lot of the same skill sets," Grubb responded. "He's an excellent receiver out of the backfield. He's a very, very capable pass protector and obviously a very powerful runner. So I don't think there's anything in the game plan that would change if Ken was unavailable. So for us, it is business as usual."

A second-round pick out of Michigan in 2023, Charbonnet had to fill in for Walker as a starter twice as a rookie last season, rushing 33 times for 107 yards and a touchdown in losses to the 49ers and Cowboys. In those games, per Pro Football Focus, he accounted for 95 yards after contact, rushed for seven first downs, and produced a pair of 10-plus yard runs against two of the NFL's better defensive units.

As Grubb pointed out, Charbonnet has soft hands out of the backfield and caught five passes in those two starts, including a 39-yard reception on a screen against San Francisco on Thursday Night Football. Though he only 209 yards on 33 catches, he finished his rookie season with four more receptions than Walker, taking the lion's share of true third down reps and frequently being a check down option for quarterback Geno Smith.

In pass protection, Charbonnet allowed five pressures and a sack on 59 blocking reps, earning a respectable 61.1 grade from PFF. In comparison, Walker received a 44.4 grade, nearly 20 points lower than his teammate.

While Charbonnet doesn't quite have the same juice in the speed department as Walker, who ran in the 4.3s at the 2022 NFL Combine, the two backs had somewhat similar numbers last season in regard to explosive runs. Walker produced 24 runs of 10 or more yards on 219 attempts and Charbonnet produced 16 such runs on only 108 attempts, providing 66 percent of the output on more than 100 fewer touches in the run game.

Charbonnet also had five designed runs of 15-plus yards compared to Walker's 10, again producing half the explosives on more than 100 fewer carries on offense for Seattle, suggesting he has enough talent to carry a bigger workload without a hitch.

Away from Charbonnet, Grubb has confidence in the rest of the Seahawks' backs, starting with Kenny McIntosh, who still has yet to receive his first regular season carry after playing in only three games as a rookie last year due to a knee injury. Answering the call with undrafted rookie George Holani right on his tail for the third roster spot last month, he rushed for 142 yards on only 17 carries, including ripping off a 56-yard touchdown run in the exhibition finale against the Browns, tallying 118 yards after contact and nine missed tackles forced.

After impressing in the preseason and making strides in pass protection as training camp progressed, an area Grubb himself called the player out for in mid-August, Seattle could turn to McIntosh as the featured third down back with Charbonnet being the early down bell cow in place of Walker on Sunday.

"I think that KMAC [Kenny McIntosh] was a guy that we were looking to see how he'd respond to camp and some of the workload that he was going to get," Grubb said. "We thought he responded great and I thought obviously he had some really good plays and production during preseason, so we're blessed to have four guys in that room that are really talented."

With the Seahawks set to practice on Friday, it's still possible Walker will be able to play this weekend, and his injury status on the final injury report will be telling on whether or not he's available to suit up in Foxboro. But even if he's well enough to play, with it being so early in the season, the team likely will give Charbonnet a more extended run than the eight carries he received in the opener.

Under those circumstances, it's possible McIntosh, who didn't see any offensive snaps in Week 1, could be mixed into the rotation with Walker not being at 100 percent health. From an insurance policy standpoint, calling up Holani from the practice squad would also be a wise move in case the third-year back isn't able to make it through the entire game.

No matter what, after finding success with numerous backs at the college level, Grubb doesn't have any reservations about leaning on the Seahawks other three backs regardless of Walker's status for Sunday. Against a stingy Patriots defense that bottled up the Bengals' rushing attack last week, throwing the ball may be a bigger part of the equation than a week ago as well, and both Charbonnet and McIntosh have the receiving talent to make positive contributions as pass catchers if called upon.