Ryan Grubb Hints Expanded Role For Ken Walker III, Seattle Seahawks Running Backs

Known for his prolific passing offenses at Washington, Ryan Grubb may be ready to turn to a more balanced attack given his backfield personnel with the Seahawks.

Dec 10, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) carries the ball against San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa (second from right) and linebacker Dre Greenlaw (far right) during the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Building one of college football's most explosive offenses at Washington over the past two years, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb earned his new title in the NFL in large part due to the Huskies prolific passing attack.

In his two seasons in Montlake, Grubb orchestrated an offense that finished in the top three in passing yardage both times led by Michael Penix Jr. and a trio of future NFL receivers in Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan, and JaLynn Polk. Airing it out downfield, per Pro Football Focus, Penix led the nation with 117 pass attempts and 51 completions of 20-plus yards through the air in 2023, throwing for over 1,700 yards and 16 touchdowns on such passes.

But while Grubb's offense at Washington understandably received acclaim for the gaudy passing numbers put up by Penix and company, the Huskies weren't a one trick pony either. In 2022, Wayne Taulapapa and Cameron Davis combined to rush for more than 1,400 yards and 24 touchdowns on the ground. Last season, Dillon Johnson burst onto the scene after transferring from Mississippi State, eclipsing 1,100 rushing yards and scoring 16 rushing touchdowns.

Given his previous background as an offensive line coach at Eastern Michigan and Fresno State, it shouldn't come as a surprise Grubb has expressed excitement about his new running back duo of Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet, hinting the run game could be a bigger part of the pallet in the NFL than it was at Washington when asked about what he wants to see from the offense.

“Well, I think that that grows and evolves every year, right? And you base some of that on the talent that you have and the guys that you have here," Grubb said following Monday's OTA practice. "And so for us, we're trying to make sure that we find every way to utilize those things. When you talk about some of the run/pass balance, you have backs like nine [Ken Walker III] and Zach [Charbonnet], you're pretty excited about your ability to run the ball.

"I think for us, we're trying to melt some things together with some of the things we've done in the past, whether it's a long time ago or even just the last few years and get the guys to understand that we want to be a physical dominant team at the same time have that same explosive, confusing element that people are used to.”

As Grubb acknowledged, a quality play caller at any level must be able to maximize personnel. At his last two stops with Fresno State and Washington, he inherited rosters with top-tier quarterbacks in Penix and Jake Haener and excellent receiving corps, which played into both programs finding incredible success via the passing game.

But as Grubb begins his first foray into NFL coaching, while the Seahawks have plenty of star power at receiver with DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and budding star Jaxon Smith-Njigba all returning, he inherits two talented backs in Walker and Charbonnet who possess contrasting styles and skill sets. In tandem, the dynamic duo could be cornerstones of his offense, more so than the run game was in his last two seasons with the Huskies even.

One of the league's most electric runners, despite running behind an injury-battered offensive line all season that limited his chances at big plays, Walker finished ninth in PFF's breakaway run percentage (28 percent) last season. In addition, he made a large chunk of his yardage on his own with a combination of power and elusiveness, ranking fifth in the NFL in missed tackles forced (56) and 15th in yards after contact per attempt (2.91).

Playing the complementary role as a rookie, Charbonnet rushed for 462 yards and a touchdown. Known as more of a north-south runner with a desire to dish out punishment with his pads, he averaged 2.96 yards per carry after contact but also added 16 runs of 10 or more yards, finishing with only eight fewer than Walker on 111 less carries.

With both backs capable of ripping off chunk plays and manufacturing yardage breaking arm tackles or making defenders miss in space, Walker and Charbonnet should be one of the NFL's best one-two punches if Seattle's offensive line can take a positive step forward and avoid the injury bug this season. But aside from their rushing talents, Grubb seems eager to find a way to get both players more involved in the passing game as well.

“Oh, I love doing that. I love doing that," Grubb said when asked about using his backs as pass catchers. "Yeah, we want to make every guy on the field, all five of them as dangerous as possible from any position on the field.”

Nov 23, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) breaks a tackle attempt by San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa (97) during the third quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports / Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

As reported by ESPN's Brady Henderson, the Seahawks consistently ranked near the bottom of the NFL in running back targets throughout the Pete Carroll era. With four different offensive coordinators during his 14 years running the show, only Jeremy Bates in 2010 wrapped up his tenure as play caller with backs in the top 15 in the NFL in targets. His last three coordinators - Darrell Bevell, Brian Schottenheimer, and Shane Waldron - finished 30th, 27th, and 30th for targets to running backs in their tenures respectively.

Though neither player offers the flexibility of an Alvin Kamara or Christian McCaffrey moving around the formation with wideout capabilities, Walker and Charbonnet both possess soft hands and the ability to create yardage after the catch. Walker finished fourth among qualified backs averaging 11.1 yards after the catch per reception and sixth in missed tackles forced (19). Charbonnet wasn't quite as efficient with an 82.7 percent catch rate, but he still averaged a respectable 7.6 yards after the catch per reception.

Considering Seattle's wealth of riches on the outside with Metcalf, Lockett, Smith-Njigba, and tight end Noah Fant, it wouldn't be fair to expect Walker and Charbonnet to suddenly vault into the top 10 or 20 in targets among running backs. And, quite frankly, such a development would suggest Grubb's attack hasn't translated to the NFL level as expected if the star receivers aren't getting the lion's share of opportunities. That would be a sign of malpractice.

But at the same time, finding a way to integrate Walker and Charbonnet into the passing game a bit more should, whether through screens, dump offs, or designed routes, only make life easier for the receivers and create more headaches for opposing defenses. Coupling that with a more efficient ground game would be a clear recipe for success as the Seahawks look to bounce back from finishing 17th in scoring last season and re-emerge as one of the NFL's most potent attacks in 2024.