RB Kenneth Walker III - SEA (2 Viewers)

[dmac37]

And you can't deny that Walker just can't seem to stay on the field.

And yet a bunch of folks seem to be in total denial about this part. And that the Seahawks keep talking about having to manage his foot.

Less than ideal situation for KWIII shareholders, IMO.

Agree.

People see and hear what they want to see and hear. As someone with zero dog in this fight I don't get it. It's clearly owner bias where they are sticking their fingers in their ears and just screaming "la la la la la I don't hear you!!!"

Plus a bunch of pretty reasonable folks saying things like “I’d rather take a more reliable RB where KW is going and take Charbs later” (paraphrasing) - which, to me, seems totally sensible.

One of the top 2-3 handcuffs in football (sits somewhere among Allen, Allgeier, Monty) and for dynasty it probably does also matter a lot that KWIII is a UFA next year.

That probably impacts redraft, because if I’m the Seahawks, I’m probably going to want to take a long, hard look at Charbs before I make a decision on extending KWIII. The coaches have suggested that Charbonnet will have a larger workload this year. Who knows what that actually means, but it could be that they want to keep KWIII fresh. Or it could be that they like what Charbs brings to the offense. Time will tell on this one. Just like the heaps of KWIII praise, I take their Charbs comments with a little grain of salt, too.

Coaches praising players in the media is all well and good but GMs signing contracts probably look at more than just whether KWIII is one of the best when available. Being available is a pretty important part too. That’s likely all going to come into consideration when it’s time for the Seahawks to make a decision on their backfield next year.

As much as I love Walker, I would bet they let him walk at the end of the year. Charbonnet will be cheaper and still provides good numbers.
Therefore, you could argue they run Walker into the ground.

Nobody knows for sure.

I will repost this article from Fantasy Points, Walker appears to be the better fit in the new Kubiak scheme, that may decide what direction they go.

Though Kamara is about to lose all of the efficiency gains associated with new Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak’s outside zone scheme, Ken Walker is about to benefit from them. Walker averages 4.54 career YPC on outside zone, reflecting a ~13% efficiency boost compared to all other carries. In contrast, Zach Charbonnet has averaged just 3.67 career YPC on outside zone, ~21% less than his average on other carries.

The boom-or-bust nature of outside zone also cleanly dovetails with Walker’s play style. As I discussed at the top of this article, outside zone possesses high stuff and explosive play rates. That’s also true of Walker, who ranks top-5 in percent of yards gained on big plays since entering the NFL while also ranking in the top half of the league in stuff rate each season.

Most importantly, Klint Kubiak and the rest of the Seahawks’ organization seem to agree with me. Get Zach Charbonnet out of your head.


I’ve already written about Walker’s many other virtues (including his potential to work in the screen game and his evolution into a three-down back) at length this offseason, so I won’t repeat myself here. I’ll just reaffirm that so long as he remains the RB20 by Underdog ADP, he’ll be my favorite value on the entire board.

 

[Willie Mays Hayes]

What I can’t get out of my head is seeing Walker head for the examination tent.

 

[VikingFrog]

Somehow I own Kenny Walker and Charbs in all 3 of my main money leagues with one more auction draft to go. If I can get them there I will.

I’m all in!

 

[Smack Tripper]

What do you think his ceiling is this year?

I think RB 7 or 8, which is pretty good for a 3rd or 4th rounder

 

[VikingFrog]

What do you think his ceiling is this year?

I think RB 7 or 8, which is pretty good for a 3rd or 4th rounder

I’ll allow it.

I’m in the boat that he’s the more talented back between him and Charbs. And his health will decide how high he ends up.

 

[kyoun1e]

Only have shares of Charb so far. Don't think I've ever had Walker or Charb.

This could be a fun season.

 

[VikingFrog]

Only have shares of Charb so far. Don't think I've ever had Walker or Charb.

This could be a fun season.

I somehow have JSN, Walker, Charbs and Kupp all on the same team.

I did not purposely draft that way, it just sort of happened.

Go Seahawks I guess!

 

[Payne]

Who is guilty of wishful thinking? Anyone totally ruling out a less than workhorse role for Walker or *anything close to an even split* this season seems guilty of that IMO. The quotes from McDonald and Kubiak have been shared already, so I’m not going to re-post them because they aren’t definitive and can be read or interpreted either way depending on what you want to see. All I’m saying is that many impartial observers (myself included, as I have equal exposure to KW3 and Charbs) believe there’s at least some possibility there will be a more even distribution of touches than we’ve seen in the past. Whether that’s because the coaching staff simply likes what Charbonnet brings to the table and thinks he’s has earned it, or because they want to keep Walker healthy all season and managing his workload a bit more seems prudent given past injury woes (or some combination of these factors), I can’t say.

It does seem strange to me that the coaching staff would want him to carry the load when he’s shown that he can’t stay healthy after carrying the load. I mean if they want him available for every game wouldn’t they try to limit his touches?

That is one way of looking at it.

The other is coaches tend to play their best players. Walker is the better player. They also know they have a quality backup waiting should Walker get hurt again.

 

[mjb03003]

Who is guilty of wishful thinking? Anyone totally ruling out a less than workhorse role for Walker or *anything close to an even split* this season seems guilty of that IMO. The quotes from McDonald and Kubiak have been shared already, so I’m not going to re-post them because they aren’t definitive and can be read or interpreted either way depending on what you want to see. All I’m saying is that many impartial observers (myself included, as I have equal exposure to KW3 and Charbs) believe there’s at least some possibility there will be a more even distribution of touches than we’ve seen in the past. Whether that’s because the coaching staff simply likes what Charbonnet brings to the table and thinks he’s has earned it, or because they want to keep Walker healthy all season and managing his workload a bit more seems prudent given past injury woes (or some combination of these factors), I can’t say.

It does seem strange to me that the coaching staff would want him to carry the load when he’s shown that he can’t stay healthy after carrying the load. I mean if they want him available for every game wouldn’t they try to limit his touches?

That is one way of looking at it.

The other is coaches tend to play their best players. Walker is the better player. They also know they have a quality backup waiting should Walker get hurt again.

Play their best players, yes. Smart coaches also find the appropriate workload for their best player(s) to ensure they stay healthy, keeping the most dynamic and explosive offense intact for the entire season.

The speculation is not that Charbs is more talented or explosive than Walker. He isn’t. The speculation is that Charbs is good, has impressed the coaching staff with everything he’s done (including stay on the field), and is deserving of a bigger role AND doing so might help preserve/protect Walker. Which is how you prognosticate more of a 60/40 or 50/50 timeshare which may actually help Walker be extra efficient with his touches and stay healthy all year, leading him to the type of RB1 finish many are saying he’s capable of based on talent alone.

I think my original post was “if this becomes more of an even split, they might both end up RB2s.” I stand by that and don’t think it would be crazy at all from a real football standpoint, despite what Walker fantasy owners might want.

 

[Bronco Billy]

Who is guilty of wishful thinking? Anyone totally ruling out a less than workhorse role for Walker or *anything close to an even split* this season seems guilty of that IMO. The quotes from McDonald and Kubiak have been shared already, so I’m not going to re-post them because they aren’t definitive and can be read or interpreted either way depending on what you want to see. All I’m saying is that many impartial observers (myself included, as I have equal exposure to KW3 and Charbs) believe there’s at least some possibility there will be a more even distribution of touches than we’ve seen in the past. Whether that’s because the coaching staff simply likes what Charbonnet brings to the table and thinks he’s has earned it, or because they want to keep Walker healthy all season and managing his workload a bit more seems prudent given past injury woes (or some combination of these factors), I can’t say.

It does seem strange to me that the coaching staff would want him to carry the load when he’s shown that he can’t stay healthy after carrying the load. I mean if they want him available for every game wouldn’t they try to limit his touches?

That is one way of looking at it.

The other is coaches tend to play their best players. Walker is the better player. They also know they have a quality backup waiting should Walker get hurt again.

Play their best players, yes. Smart coaches also find the appropriate workload for their best player(s) to ensure they stay healthy, keeping the most dynamic and explosive offense intact for the entire season.

The speculation is not that Charbs is more talented or explosive than Walker. He isn’t. The speculation is that Charbs is good, has impressed the coaching staff with everything he’s done (including stay on the field), and is deserving of a bigger role AND doing so might help preserve/protect Walker. Which is how you prognosticate more of a 60/40 or 50/50 timeshare which may actually help Walker be extra efficient with his touches and stay healthy all year, leading him to the type of RB1 finish many are saying he’s capable of based on talent alone.

I think my original post was “if this becomes more of an even split, they might both end up RB2s.” I stand by that and don’t think it would be crazy at all from a real football standpoint, despite what Walker fantasy owners might want.

The best players are not necessarily the most athletic. We see guys who hit RAS scores of 9.90 or more and fail as pro players while lesser gifted players athletically thrive.

Yeah, Walker is faster. But it is also indisputable that the past couple of seasons not only has Charbonnet been more productive but that he is also more reliable in regard to being available to play.

I can see a world where both guys perform well because Charbonnet gets more workload which keeps the SEA O in better down and distance scenarios more often and also which allows Walker to be healthier throughout the season.

 

[LawFitz]

Who is guilty of wishful thinking? Anyone totally ruling out a less than workhorse role for Walker or *anything close to an even split* this season seems guilty of that IMO. The quotes from McDonald and Kubiak have been shared already, so I’m not going to re-post them because they aren’t definitive and can be read or interpreted either way depending on what you want to see. All I’m saying is that many impartial observers (myself included, as I have equal exposure to KW3 and Charbs) believe there’s at least some possibility there will be a more even distribution of touches than we’ve seen in the past. Whether that’s because the coaching staff simply likes what Charbonnet brings to the table and thinks he’s has earned it, or because they want to keep Walker healthy all season and managing his workload a bit more seems prudent given past injury woes (or some combination of these factors), I can’t say.

It does seem strange to me that the coaching staff would want him to carry the load when he’s shown that he can’t stay healthy after carrying the load. I mean if they want him available for every game wouldn’t they try to limit his touches?

That is one way of looking at it.

The other is coaches tend to play their best players. Walker is the better player. They also know they have a quality backup waiting should Walker get hurt again.

Play their best players, yes. Smart coaches also find the appropriate workload for their best player(s) to ensure they stay healthy, keeping the most dynamic and explosive offense intact for the entire season.

The speculation is not that Charbs is more talented or explosive than Walker. He isn’t. The speculation is that Charbs is good, has impressed the coaching staff with everything he’s done (including stay on the field), and is deserving of a bigger role AND doing so might help preserve/protect Walker. Which is how you prognosticate more of a 60/40 or 50/50 timeshare which may actually help Walker be extra efficient with his touches and stay healthy all year, leading him to the type of RB1 finish many are saying he’s capable of based on talent alone.

I think my original post was “if this becomes more of an even split, they might both end up RB2s.” I stand by that and don’t think it would be crazy at all from a real football standpoint, despite what Walker fantasy owners might want.

The best players are not necessarily the most athletic. We see guys who hit RAS scores of 9.90 or more and fail as pro players while lesser gifted players athletically thrive.

Yeah, Walker is faster. But it is also indisputable that the past couple of seasons not only has Charbonnet been more productive but that he is also more reliable in regard to being available to play.

I can see a world where both guys perform well because Charbonnet gets more workload which keeps the SEA O in better down and distance scenarios more often and also which allows Walker to be healthier throughout the season.

Walker owners don't seem to realize that less is more with that guy.