Pete Carroll raves Ken Walker’s doing what Seahawks rookie RBs must to play: pass block
Ken Walker, come on down!
And bring a bunch of your fellow rookies with you.
That — and the ongoing quarterback competition with Geno Smith starting and Drew Lock playing a lot — are what to expect from the Seahawks Saturday in their preseason opener at Pittsburgh.
Rashaad Penny will not play because of a slight groin issue. Coach Pete Carroll made sound Thursday it likely would not keep Seattle’s lead running back out of a regular-season game. Penny practiced Wednesday but not Thursday, a walk-through before the team left in the afternoon for Pennsylvania.
That makes Walker, the team’s second-round draft choice in April, Seattle’s starter against the Steelers.
Wide receivers Marquise Goodwin (hamstring), Freddie Swain (back) and Dee Eskridge (hamstring) will not play Saturday. That means rookie draft picks Bo Melton and Dareke Young will, a lot. They’ve practiced more in scrimmages this week.
As for Walker’s rise, Saturday (4 p.m., KING television locally) won’t be the last time you’ll see a lot of the Seahawks’ new number 9 in the backfield this summer, fall and winter.
The one aspect of the prolific rusher from Michigan State’s game he must improve and prove to Carroll is pass blocking.
Walker didn’t do that much in college because he was too busy romping on running plays — but he wasn’t good at it when he did it.
Running backs must do it
A rookie running back gets substantial playing time for Carroll and the Seahawks if he proves himself as a pass protector. That allows the rookie back to play on any down, and the play caller to use the entire playbook when he’s in the game.
It also helps what’s been a suspect offensive line in pass protection the last several Seahawks seasons.
It’s how Thomas Rawls became Seattle’s lead back a few years ago after going undrafted out of Michigan. It’s how seventh-round pick Chris Carson was a rookie starter until a broken leg four games into that 2017 season.
It’s how Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas have become the Seahawks’ third-down backs.
This past week, the first one in Seahawks’ training camp with full-pads practices, Walker wowed Carroll and his assistant coaches with how effectively he pass protected.
On Tuesday, Homer showed in a pass-pro drill against charging linebackers how it’s done — and why Carroll loves him as his third-down back.
The next back up after Homer went in the drill: Walker. He ran up four yards, squatted his legs and lowered his shoulders and head into the chest of charging linebacker Tanner Muse. Walker kept his legs moving with a low base and drove Muse nearly 10 yards past quarterback Geno Smith, through the line of defensive players watching behind the drill.
That’ll work.
So will the two sharp, jab steps he took in the open field Wednesday during an 11-on-11 scrimmage run off right tackle. Walker’s moves almost juked the linebacker trying to stop him into adjacent Lake Washington, and drew some yelps from impressed teammates.
“You talk about surprises, I’m surprised. I’m surprised he’s so well-rounded,” Carroll said of Walker. “Runner. He’s blocking...his pass-protection stuff, he just turned the page (from college). He was not very good in college as a pass protector, and we didn’t know.”
The day the Seahawks drafted Walker in April, running backs coach Chad Morton splashed reality into what otherwise was a celebration phone call from Carroll and general manager John Schneider. Morton challenged Walker to become a good pass blocker to play right away in Seattle.
“Even when we did the meetings at the combine (in Indianapolis in March), just coming in here, they made it apparent that pass protection is very important to play,” Walker said.
“So, I already know that’s a big deal and that it’s very important.”
The Seahawks want, if not need, Walker to play right away given Penny’s extensive history of injuries in his first four, sputtering NFL seasons with them. So far in training camp, it’s not a competition for playing time between Penny and Walker as much as it is a job share, a 1 and 1A arrangement.
That’s how well the 21-year-old Walker, a former wide receiver at Arlington High School in Tennessee, has done in all aspects of Seahawks running-back play already.
“Chad’s done a great job with him, and demanded and worked really hard with him,” Carroll said.
“For this kid, everything’s important. He wants to do great. He’s not going to let any stone be unturned. So, I’m really excited to see how he goes. He’s going to get some good play time in this game. ...
“I expect him to do well.”
What’s changed from Walker at Michigan State to now?
“He can block guys,” Carroll said, chuckling.
“Pass protection, it’s something guys have to realize what it takes to do it. Guys totally have the ability; it’s not like guys can’t pass protect, because they can. It’s just about effort, and technique.
“Some guys may fight it, but he championed the cause.
“So he can play all three downs. We feel comfortable with him.”
Cornerback situation
Expect a lot of rookies Tariq Woolen and Coby Bryant, stars of training camp, on Saturday. They are likely to start, and stay in the game because of injuries to veterans Sidney Jones, Artie Burns and Tre Brown.
Jones, who started with Brown last season for Seattle, “is making progress,” Carroll said but is still a couple days from returning to practice. The former University of Washington standout got a concussion Aug. 3 taking on a block in a scrimmage.
This story was originally published August 11, 2022 at 2:42 PM.
