After receiving lots of offseason hype, Kenneth Walker was outsnapped in Week 1 by Zach Charbonnet. This has led many Walker fantasy owners to hit the panic button. Charbonnet didn’t just outsnap Walker, but he also outperformed him. Not ideal for his fantasy owners. He looked like the Seattle Seahawks backup in week one.
Is it time to hit the panic button?
Walker has been nursing a foot injury throughout training camp. This has led to much concern from fans and reporters, to which Seattle’s Head Coach, Mike Macdonald, has responded by saying they have a plan for him. It seems this includes a ramp-up into the regular season.
Walker, who played more in the first half, and Charbonnet, who played more in the second half, nearly alternated drives. This isn’t pleasant for fantasy owners. Not overreacting to an underwhelming Week 1 is crucial, however. This week’s usage does not mean that he won’t see more snaps and more touches later in the season. The talent is there, and it is bound to show.
Charbonnet is a good back in his own right. He will always have a role in this offense. As Walker is an injury-prone running back, having another good back on the team is not a bad thing. Charbonnet allows him to not get overworked and injured.
Robert Saleh is back in San Francisco as their defensive coordinator. During his first stint with the San Francisco 49ers, Saleh led some of the best defenses in the NFL, peaking in 2019 as second in total defense. His impact showed in his first week. The 49ers’ defense was all over the field and shut down the Seattle offense.
This San Francisco defense is led by two of the best defenders in the league, Fred Warner and Nick Bosa. Both players were all over the field, wrecking both the run game and the pass game.
The Seahawks will not be playing a defense of this caliber every week. There are better weeks ahead in Seattle.
Seattle’s offseason moves pointed towards the offense having a run-heavy approach. This was the case in week 1. In a neutral game script, with the game being within one score the entire game, the Seahawks called run plays 50% of the time. 25 called pass plays and 25 called run plays.
This is promising. Seattle will have many games with more than 50 total offensive snaps. As the should-be lead back, Walker will see a healthy amount of touches, even if Charbonnet keeps a large role. The average number of offensive snaps per game is around 60-65. With the Seahawks’ defense being as good as they are, Seattle may see even more than that.
Despite the desire to establish the run, the Seahawks could not. The longest running back carries on the day for Seattle were for eight and seven yards. This was due in large part to tacklers getting to the running backs before they could get going. Walker averaged 0.3 yards before contact, and Charbonnet averaged 1.5 yards before contact. No run game will ever get going if that is the case. Seattle will work to reprimand this issue, but as the offensive line was a big issue last year, it may carry over into 2025.
As a Walker fantasy owner myself, the early usage of Charbonnet certainly scared me. It still scares me. Despite the narrative of Charbonnet taking over, Walker saw one more touch than his counterpart.
Charbonnet: 12 touches on 29 snaps = Touches on 41% of snaps
Walker: 13 touches on 20 Snaps = Touches on 65% of snaps (was targeted on 2 others)
Walker also saw much more usage in the fourth quarter when the game mattered the most.
Through the first three quarters, Charbonnet saw 11 carries to Walker’s five.
In the fourth quarter, Charbonnet only had one carry to Walker’s five.
Watching the film for this game, his lack of production was at no fault of his own. There was nowhere for him to run. This is either really concerning for Seattle’s offensive line or a good sign for the 49ers’ run defense. Being a Walker owner in fantasy myself, I hope it is the latter.
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