Seahawks add to backfield, draft Michigan State RB Kenneth Walker III in 2nd round
The Seahawks added another piece to their backfield Friday, selecting Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III with the second of their two consecutive second-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Walker went to Seattle at No. 41 overall following a breakout performance in his one season with the Spartans last fall, when he rushed for 1,636 yards and 18 touchdowns while averaging 6.2 yards per carry.
“I had a great group of guys around me, my teammates and a great coaching staff,” Walker said on a conference call with reporters following his selection. “They put me in a pro-style offense that best suits my skills, and I believe that’s what helped me have the season I had.”
It also gave the Seahawks a good look at what Walker could add to their offense.
“It helps to see him run all of the variety of plays,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “There’s a lot of shotgun run that’s happening in college football, it’s pretty zone-oriented, pretty straightforward. They had an NFL-style running game, and they did a little bit of everything, so you were able to see him able to see him run zone schemes, run gap scheme principles. I know he was really effective in the counter game.
“It was a really good illustration of a guy being able to blossom with the whole variety of the run game, and so it made sense to us that he really could fit in.”
Walker has long been a productive rusher.
He collected 3,485 yards — averaging 7 yards per carry — and 41 touchdowns during his career at Arlington (Tenn.) High School.
Before transferring to Michigan State ahead of the 2021 season, he rushed for 579 yards in consecutive seasons at Wake Forest.
He averaged 5.9 yards per carry as a freshman and 4.9 as a sophomore while scoring a 17 rushing touchdowns across the two seasons.
Then came the 1,600-plus yard season at Michigan State, which earned Walker All-America and All-Big Ten first-team honors.
He finished sixth in Heisman Trophy voting in 2021, and won both the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award and the Doak Walker Award.
What can he add to this Seahawks running backs group?
“I believe I bring an explosive and physical running style to this offense,” he said. “Great vision in and out of my cuts, and also I believe I can hit the home run and catch out of the backfield.”
Walker was the second running back selected in this year’s draft, following Iowa State’s Breece Hall, who was selected by the Jets earlier in the second round.
“Growing up, you see guys on TV that go through this and you dream of this moment, and it’s actually here, so it’s surreal and it’s a blessing to be in this position,” he said.
Walker’s addition also brings some depth to a Seahawks backfield that has some uncertainty heading into the 2022 season.
Lead running back Chris Carson is working his way back from season-ending neck surgery last fall, while Rashaad Penny is only signed through next season.
The Seahawks took the opportunity to add Walker, who finished the 2021 season with the second-most rushing yards nationally among FBS players, and tied for eighth in rushing touchdowns.
“He was in a spot that we just couldn’t pass him up,” Carroll said. “But, we don’t have updates yet on Chris. We won’t know for some time here that we can’t predict yet. So there’s a little bit of uncertainty that we’re waiting on.
“So, with the commitment that we have to the run game, we want that group of guys really raring up to get this thing hit from the get-go, so it felt like a good move. It’s going to make it very competitive.”
Moments before selecting Walker, the Seahawks drafted Minnesota pass rusher Boye Mafe at No. 40 overall.
They drafted Mississippi State offensive tackle Charles Cross at No. 9 in the first round Thursday night.
This story was originally published April 29, 2022 at 5:00 PM.
