The Seattle Seahawks are often forgotten or only mentioned in passing in the national media. However, that also makes Seattle a popular “insider pick” or “sleeper pick” when it comes to the performance of the team or individual players. One of those “insider picks” is Kenneth Walker III, who comes to us from Peter Schrager of “Good Morning Football.”
Last month, Schrager released his “Top 10 Breakout Players” of the 2024 season. Number two on that list was Walker. Schrager isn’t the only national pundit excited for Walker’s first season under Ryan Grubb. Lost in that excitement, however, is second-year player Zach Charbonnet. As talented and electrifying as Walker is, he can only get so many touches. Just as the wide receivers cannibalize each other’s touches, the same is true for the running backs.
Last year, the Seahawks handed the ball off to running backs 328 times. Of those handoffs, Walker had 219 carries (67%) compared to Charbonnet’s 108 carries (33%). However, that was the breakdown of runs under former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who is now with the Chicago Bears.
To get an idea of how current Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has split his running backs’ runs, we need to look at the University of Washington’s handoff splits from 2023. In 2023, the Washington Huskies had 262 run attempts by running backs. Of those handoffs, Dillon Johnson had 173 runs (66%) compared to the next best running back, Tybo Rogers, with 33 runs (16%).
When comparing percentages, Walker had 67% to Johnson’s 66%. These numbers are almost identical, which suggests that Walker would probably get a similar number of runs, right? Perhaps before coming to that conclusion, however, one should look at the measurements and running styles of Walker, Johnson, and Charbonnet.
Here are each player’s measurements according to the players’ respective Combine profiles.
Kenneth Walker III
· Height 175cm
· Weight 211lbs
· Arms 30 3/8”
· Hands 9 ½”
· 4.38 seconds over 40 meters
· 34 inch vertical jump
· 10 feet 2 inches long jump
Zach Charbonnet
· Height 1.83 m
· Weight 214lbs
· Arms 32”
· Hands 9 7/8”
· 4.53 40-yard dash
· 37 inch vertical jump
· 10 feet 2 inches long jump
Dillon Johnson
· Height 1.83 m
· Weight 217lbs
· Arms 30”
· Hands 9 3/8”
· 4.68 40-yard dash
· 31.5 inch vertical jump
· 9’9″ long jump
What’s striking about these measurements is how similar Charbonnet and Johnson’s height and weight are. Both are 6’1″ and weigh just 3 lbs. The similarities don’t end there. Both Johnson and Charbonnet have a similar physical running style. Both tend to hit the first gap they see, often between the tackles. Walker, on the other hand, as many Seahawks fans have seen, tends to jump around in the backfield to get the bigger advantage. Walker’s style is more of a high-risk/reward one, often losing space instead of taking the short advantage that Charbonnet or Johnson may be looking for.
Given these similarities between Charbonnet and Johnson, could Ryan Grubb go more with the more well-known running back type? That’s a possibility. Additionally, Charbonnet is no longer a rookie and has spoken himself about how different it is entering his second year. Charbonnet has described his rookie season as “just getting a taste of it” and says he has “a lot more room to improve” entering his second year. In his second year, Charbonnet noted that he is much more knowledgeable about the NFL and has learned certain lessons. Among those lessons, Charbonnet talked about the need to rest more and give his body a break in the offseason.
This isn’t to say Charbonnet is a better running back than Walker. Rather, it’s to point out the different running styles of the two. While Grubb is more familiar with the downhill runners like Johnson and Charbonnet, he’s never had a running back as electric as Walker. Much of this analysis is just conjecture until Seattle faces the Denver Broncos in less than a week. However, don’t be surprised if Charbonnet’s snap count increases, which will likely result in Walker’s snap count decreasing out of the backfield.
