3 Seattle Seahawks rookies that are ready to start Week 1
By Lee Vowell
Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III
To start OTAs last week, both Rashaad Penny and Chris Carson were inactive. Carson makes a bit more sense as he is dealing with a neck injury and likely – and I am just taking a fairly safe guess here – will never play again. But Penny was already dealing with a hamstring injury that he has been dealing with since 1736, it seems. This is where Walker comes in.
Penny and Carson are both on one-year deals. Walker needs to prove he can be “the guy” in 2023 and beyond this season. But heck, he has the talent to be the main back this year. He is fast – he ran a sub-4.4 40 – and strong. He can brush off tackles and then outrun defensive backs.
The reason Walker would have gone in the top-10 of the draft in the 1970s and 1980s is that he can change an offense. But in today’s NFL, those guys go in the second round and the Seahawks are lucky to have him. Walker should be the starter in Seattle for years to come.
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He does need to work on his blocking ability but that is all about technique and he will be taught well by offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. Walker can learn this is training camp and preseason. What a player can’t learn is to see the open holes in a defensive line, exploit the openings and then outrun players to the end zone but Walker doesn’t have to learn those things because he can already do them.