An idea floated by one NFL columnist has started to gain a bit of traction with some 12s. Frankly, it has me wondering if they've ever watched him, or the Seattle Seahawks, or any team, play football.
We've all seen them, right, 12s? I'm talking about the crazy trade ideas like sending Max Unger and a first-round pick for Jimmy Graham - oh shoot, that was real. I was hoping that was like the final episode of Dallas. But the Hawks actually screwed up their offensive line for eternity for a guy they were never going to use enough to justify the deal and threw in a first-round pick as well.
Okay, so at least they wouldn't trade away a player as productive as DK Metcalf for just a second-round pick. Well, not by choice, anyway. Turns out that Metcalf wanted an extension now, not later. Plus, he wasn't very happy with the Seahawks' changes last season. It seems that the release of Tyler Lockett, his friend and mentor, was the last straw for him. The NFL is a business, but I also get where DK is coming from.
The Seahawks aren't stupid enough to jettison Kenneth Walker III for garbage
But this latest suggested trade is ridiculous. Our site leader, Lee Vowell, has already pointed out just how inane the proposed deal is. As with so many of these ideas, the proposed trade is incredibly lopsided. I'll give Moe Moton credit; at least he bothered to suggest what the Hawks would get in return. It seems like a third of these ideas never bother to mention what Seattle's compensation would be at all.
In this instance, it was suggested that the Hawks trade Walker to the Raiders for a sixth-round pick. Why, you ask? Well, Pete Carroll likes Walker, and the Raiders have the 33-year-old Raheem Mostert as their RB1. Okay, cool, so I see why Las Vegas would like the deal. Why the Hawks would trade the fifth-rated running back in the league (per Pro Football Focus, subscription required) for a sixth-round pick is beyond comprehension.
The fact that some 12s are buying into this absolutely asinine idea is - well, I'm put in mind of Redd Foxx in Sanford and Son, clutching his chest and wheezing, "It's the big one, I'm coming to join you, Elizabeth." Just Google, it, young one. It means I'm flabbergasted - and you can Google that, too.
I've seen this statement on social media regarding running backs contracts: "Unless they're at the (Derrick) Henry, Saquon (Barkley) level, he's not getting a second deal from us." They also mention Walker's injury history. I'll grant that Henry is better, but even with him, the gap isn't as great as you'd think based on the simplest stats. As for Barkley, some of you really haven't been paying attention. Yes, 12s, it's time to get mathy. This covers each player's first three seasons in the league.
Player | G missed | Yds | Avg | PFF | MT/100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Henry | 1 | 2293 | 4.58 | 75.1 | 18.5 |
Barkley | 17 | 2334 | 4.70 | 72.6 | 17.1 |
Walker | 10 | 2528 | 4.21 | 82.9 | 27.2 |
That mystical MT/100 represents missed tackles forced by the player (per PFF) per 100 rushing attempts. So despite running behind a sieve of a line, with especially bad guard play, Walker was still putting up solid numbers. And he was injured less often than Barkley in his first three seasons. Saquon hasn't exactly been injury-prone since then, as he's played in 87 percent of his team's games in the past four seasons.
As for the idea that Saquon Barkley was at this established level of greatness, let's look at his 2023 season with the Giants versus last season's spectacular run. I'll include Walker's 2024 as well.
Player | Yds | Avg | PFF | MT/100 | Blocking | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Barkley 23 | 962 | 3.9 | 70.2 | 12.6 | 40.9 | |
Barkley 24 | 2005 | 5.8 | 85.3 | 19.0 | 76.8 | |
Walker 24 | 573 | 3.7 | 88.4 | 39.9 | 58.4 |
That last column, blocking, is the grade PFF assigned to the appropriate offensive line. So, for Barkley, it was the abysmal 2023 New York Giants and the excellent Philadelphia Eagles. Note the Giants of 2023 were even worse than the Hawks last year. You may also remember that many thought New York made the right move in letting their star running back walk. As it turned out, their offensive line was just trash. Hmmmm... and what team do we know that also has a questionable O-line?
This was the long way of saying that it would be unbelievably stupid to trade Walker away for a sixth-round pick. Maybe, you know, fix the damn offensive line so he has some blocking. I'm pretty sure Sam Darnold would appreciate that as well.
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