The Seahawks, and I’ll be generous with this assessment here, took a step back in the 2022 free agency period. They traded longtime superstar quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos for a handful of picks and players, including the 1.09 in the 2022 NFL Draft, QB Drew Lock, and TE Noah Fant. They’re a team in transition now, which makes taking a running back in the second round a bit of a head-scratcher. All-in-all, the Seahawks took Kenneth Walker out of Michigan State in the second round, and a pair of seventh-round wide receivers. Let’s take a look at what we can expect from them in their rookie years.
FULL SEATTLE SEAHAWKS DRAFT RESULTS
Rd. | Pick | Player | Pos. | College |
1 | 9 | Charles Cross | OL | Mississippi St. |
2 | 40 | Boye Mafe | DE | Minnesota |
2 | 41 | Kenneth Walker III | RB | Michigan St. |
3 | 72 | Abraham Lucas | OL | Washington St. |
4 | 109 | Coby Bryant | CB | Cincinnati |
5 | 153 | Tariq Woolen | CB | UTSA |
5 | 158 | Tyreke Smith | DE | Ohio St. |
7 | 229 | Bo Melton | WR | Rutgers |
7 | 233 | Dareke Young | WR | Lenoir-Rhyne |
Round 2, Pick 41 Overall: Kenneth Walker III, Running Back, Michigan State (5’9” 211 lbs)
Depth Chart
RB1: Rashaad Penny
RB2: Kenneth Walker III
RB3: Chris Carson
RB4: DeeJay Dallas
RB5: Darwin Thompson
TALENT
There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth on fantasy football twitter because Michigan State wasn’t built around giving Walker targets, so everyone up and decided that he couldn’t catch the ball. But, as a pure runner, Walker is one of the more impressive guys that I’ve watched in this year’s class. He’s a fast, bursty, springy and elusive running back who is a threat to take any given carry all the way to the house. He has some trouble breaking tackles, but he has enough vision, instincts, awareness, and evasiveness to simply not be in a position to get tackled in the open field. To put it another way: if you give Walker an inch, he’s taking it all the way to the house.
Walker has extreme difficulty in pass protection, and some point to his lack of targets as an issue, but he has excellent body control and proprioception on catches.
2022 OPPORTUNITY
Well, this is where things get a little bit wobbly. The Seahawks have Chris Carson under contract and re-signed suddenly not-dead Rashaad Penny to a one-year deal. But, Chris Carson is dealing with the recovery from a neck injury, and I doubt he plays in any meaningful sense ever again. That leaves Walker needing to surpass Rashaad Penny, who has six starts in four years, and who has one year over 100 touches thanks to injuries. So, what I am saying is that Rashaad Penny shouldn’t be hard to cast aside. There’s also that Penny is essentially the same player as Walker, just older and more injury-prone (it’s a thing!).
Walker landed in the perfect spot for a guy who wasn’t asked to catch passes in college; Rashaad Penny has 31 targets in four years, and Chris Carson has averages 21 catches per year. The Seahawks simply don’t ask their lead back to catch footballs, so if you worry about that from KW3, he landed in the perfect spot.
2022 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
On average, one to two rookie running backs end up inside the top-fifteen at the end of the season. This year, there are exactly two candidates for that: Breece Hall (NYJ) and Kenneth Walker. Since the draft, Walker is RB28 in Underdog Fantasy ADP. I will take Walker at RB28 at literally every single opportunity. KW3 landed in the perfect spot for his skillset on a team that wants to emphasize the running back rushing the ball. He has top-twelve running back upside. The only thing holding him back is the Seahawks’ offense isn’t set to be good, which means his touchdown upside is iffy. He will need to get a good amount of luck in that category to really pop a la Najee Harris, but he’s a shoo-in to be a mid-level RB2 as soon as he gets the starting role.
TALENT
2021 OPPORTUNITY
2021 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Round 7, Pick 229: Bo Melton, Wide Receiver, Rutgers (5’11” 189 lbs)
Depth Chart
WR1: D.K. Metcalf
WR2: Tyler Lockett
WR3: Freddie Swain
WR4: Dee Eskridge
WR5: Penny Hart
WR6: Bo Melton/Dareke Young
TALENT
The first thing that pops off the tape when watching Melton in college is that he is every bit as fast as his 4.34 40-yard dash would imply (probably because he was a high school track star). He’s also a shifty wide receiver who can catch the ball in traffic and do the hard part for his quarterback. Physically though, that’s pretty much it with Melton. He’s not especially exciting on tape unless he is getting into a full sprint downfield, and his size actively works against him if the cornerback decides he is going to press Melton.
2022 OPPORTUNITY
The Seahawks more than likely took Melton for his gadget potential on offense and for his strong gunner skills on special teams. I doubt he matters much for fantasy football.
2022 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
He will have a 50+ yard touchdown in the preseason and will win some degenerate preseason DFS money. And then we will forget he exists.
TALENT
2021 OPPORTUNITY
2021 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Round 7, Pick 233: Dareke Young, Wide Receiver, Lenoir-Rhyne (6’2” 224 lbs)
Depth Chart
WR1: D.K. Metcalf
WR2: Tyler Lockett
WR3: Freddie Swain
WR4: Dee Eskridge
WR5: Penny Hart
WR6: Bo Melton/Dareke Young
TALENT
Young is thoroughly unimpressive as a pass catcher but is a proficient blocker who is likely there to compete for the Seahawks’ WR5 role. He is a big guy, and uses a good amount of his size as a strong blocker. There are no full cutups of Dareke Young, but he is a big, strong wide receiver who has the best possible person to learn at the feet of, with D.K. Metcalf teaching him the ropes in Seattle. Lenoir-Rhyne used him on sweeps and such, but those seemed to be misdirection to hide when he would be a lead blocker. I doubt the Seahawks do this at the next level.
2022 OPPORTUNITY
Young likely only makes the team as a special teamer if he does not end up on the practice squad. Much of his skill demonstrated on tape was because he was playing against future used car salesman and insurance claims representatives. I doubt he gets more than a handful of targets this year… from either Drew Lock or Geno Smith.
2022 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Oh. No, thank you.