Seattle Seahawks rookie second-round pick Kenneth Walker was given an opportunity back in Week 5 against the New Orleans Saints once starter Rashaad Penny went down with an unfortunate season-ending injury.
While no one likes to see a player earn an opportunity due to an injury, Walker has done everything possible to help his surprising Seahawks.
The Michigan State product did just that Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers for the first-place Seahawks. The kid put up 168 yards on 23 attempts with two touchdowns. That included an eye-opening 74-yard score to pretty much put the game on ice in the fourth quarter.
Talk about Walker putting on the burners to take that to the outside before turning it up field and removing any doubt about the outcome of the game. He took the soul of Los Angeles’ defense and ripped it apart in pretty much every way.
But that’s not the extent of what we saw from the reigning Heisman finalist. He was on one throughout the entire game, displaying a combination of speed, athleticism and vision that made him a second-round pick in the first place.
Walker is one of the reasons Seattle has emerged at the top of an otherwise pedestrian NFC West despite the presence of the defending champion Rams as well as the reigning conference runner-up San Francisco 49ers.
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Kenneth Walker runs himself into the NFL Rookie of the Year conversation
Those who watched Walker dominate for the Spartans in East Lansing likely aren’t too surprised by his performance thus far as a rookie.
Last season saw the 210-pound back tally 1,636 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns for Michigan State. This came after he transfered from Wake Forest ahead of the 2021 campaign. Now in Seattle, Walker is doing things we have not seen done from a Seahawks rookie.
- Kenneth Walker stats (2022): 411 rushing yards, 6.1 average, 4 TD
Even ahead of Sunday’s game, Walker was catching the eye of his head coach.
“I thought Ken Walker was showing how legit he is. He’s really a special runner, and he’s going to have marvelous, miraculous runs. It’s going to shock you with the things he does.”
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll on Kenneth Walker
Seattle now heads into Week 8 against the surprising 6-1 New York Giants with a 4-3 record and in first place in the NFC West. If Walker continues to play like this, the Seahawks could very well find themselves in the playoff conversation down the stretch. That’s just how good he has been.