Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet will have to prove himself on Sunday if he wants to play a big role … (+)
The Seattle Seahawks enter their Week 3 home game against the Miami Dolphins with a 2-0 record, and will likely be without one of their biggest stars.
Running back Kenneth Walker is expected to miss his second consecutive game with an oblique abdominal muscle injury. While the Seahawks officially list Walker as questionable, head coach Mike Macdonald does not seem confident that the running back will be ready to play in his third year.
“Doesn’t look great right now for the Ken Walker game, but he’s working hard and getting better,” Macdonald said Friday via the Seahawks’ official website.
With Walker out last week, the Seahawks managed 46 rushing yards in a narrow win over the New England Patriots. Second-year back Zach Charbonnet managed just 38 yards on 14 attempts. The only other Seahawks player to gain yards on the ground was quarterback Geno Smith. That’s just not sustainable.
Seattle surprisingly used a second-round pick for Charbonnet in the 2023 NFL Draft. The idea of general manager John Schneider and co. was to build a powerful backfield.
After averaging a strong 4.3 yards per carry as a rookie last season, the UCLA product has seen a rapid decline in the first two games of 2024. He is averaging just 2.3 yards on 22 rushing attempts. That’s not enough. This performance has also led to widespread criticism of the young running back.
Sunday’s game could be career-defining for Seattle Seahawks’ Zach Charbonnet
Zach Charbonnet will likely start on Sunday because Kenneth Walker is injured (AP Photo/Charles … (+)
That’s really not an exaggeration. The Seahawks know they need balance on offense. It’s not sustainable for Smith to average 34.5 pass attempts per game like he did over the first two weeks.
Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb tried to explain Seattle’s running problems against New England, attributing it in part to the Patriots’ defensive strategy.
“That’s just New England’s defensive lineup,” Grubb told reporters Thursday. “They’ve been good for a long time and the stats before the game would have shown that their weakness is throwing the ball. I thought we had to take advantage of that at the end and that’s what we did.”
Indeed. Smith threw for 327 yards with one touchdown and zero interceptions in the overtime win. Again, sustainability is the key here. Smith is not a top-tier quarterback. He never will be. Relying on him too much will prove to be a mistake later. After all, there’s a reason Seattle has exhausted top-tier draft picks on running backs in two consecutive drafts.
Sure, the Seahawks’ offensive line wasn’t great from a run-blocking perspective against New England. But how much that part of the offense deteriorated without Walker was absolutely telling. Remember, he rushed for 103 yards in a Week 1 win over the Denver Broncos.
Kenny McIntosh will be back in action against Miami. It would also not be a surprise if Brittain Brown or George Holani were called up from the practice squad. But neither of them is a threat to take Charbonnet’s place.
Instead, Seattle could well look to outside options if the young running back struggles again on Sunday against the Dolphins. Purely hypothetical, but Miami running back Jeff Wilson could be an option.
Experienced free agents include Jerick McKinnon, Latavius Murray, Eno Benjamin and Joshua Kelley. We’re not talking elite talent here. But they’re all options.
For a Seahawks team that is 2-0 and looking to compete with the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West, continuing to rely on the struggling Charbonnet is not a recipe for success. His cap space is obviously quite limited right now. It’s time for the youngster to prove himself or step aside. It’s that simple.
