Lead running back Kenneth Walker in Seattle Seahawks NFL training camp before the final season of his contract, speaking Wednesday July 30, 2025, at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton. By Gregg Bell/The News Tribune
Kenneth Walker’s not right. One game in, the Seahawks’ running game’s not right.
Does that mean more Zach Charbonnet as Seattle’s lead back?
That’s one of the questions coming out of the wholly underwhelming first game for new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s outside-zone blocking and running schemes.
The offensive linemen plowed giant rushing lanes against reserve and half-starting defensive fronts in two preseason games. But Sunday they had San Francisco 49ers swarming through through them in the opener. Walker and Charbonnet combined for just 67 yards on 22 rushes. That’s 3.05 yards per rush.
The lack of productivity running the ball on first and second downs put Seattle in too many third-and-long situations. The Seahawks converted only three of 10 third downs. It was the NFL’s sixth-lowest rate in week one.
That is why San Francisco had the ball for 38 minutes, to just 22 for Seattle.
That is not why coach Mike Macdonald hired Kubiak this offseason.
Kubiak is here to revitalize a running game that was 29th in the NFL last season. But to begin this season Seattle’s offense did not at all function as it’s supposed to. The result: a 17-13 home loss to the 49ers.
Take out Sam Darnold’s 14 yards on two quarterback runs, a direct snap to tight end AJ Barner and one run for 1 yard into defenders on the first drive of the season by rookie QB Jalen Milroe and the Seahawks’ backs would be 26th in NFL rushing offense after week one.
Charbonnet, the number-two running back, played 30 of 52 offensive snaps. Lead back Walker played 21 snaps in the first game of his contract year. His rookie deal ends with the end of this season. “We’re not tallying reps as the game goes on,” Macdonald said Monday, “but a lot of it’s based on how the game’s going and what plays guys run better and things like that.” Sunday the Seahawks play the Steelers (1-0) in Pittsburgh’s home opener.
Will those snap counts change for Walker and Charbonnet?
“It’ll be adjustable as the season unfolds,” the coach said.
Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) carries the ball during the first quarter of the game at Lumen Field, on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in Seattle. Brian Hayes bhayes@thenewstribune.com
Kenneth Walker’s foot
Walker appeared to lack explosiveness plus decisiveness cutting up the field with the ball and breaking tackles against San Francisco.
On his first two carries, each for 4 yards, a defensive back brought him down with a low tackle. But he also had nowhere to run.
Walker’s third rush was a toss sweep right in I formation behind fullback Robbie Ouzts early in the second quarter. Fred Warner did what the All-Pro linebacker does. He read the play immediately, ran through the wash of players at the line unblocked and dropped Walker for a 1-yard loss.
On Walker’s fourth carry, San Francisco’s Kalia Davis beat Seahawks right guard Anthony Bradford off the snap. Davis dumped Walker immediately for a 3-yard loss.
On Walker’s fifth carry, early third quarter, no one blocked Warner, or two other 49ers. Walker ran straight into them up the middle. No gain.
Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) warms up before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field, on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in Seattle. Brian Hayes bhayes@thenewstribune.com
Walker ended last season on injured reserve with a high-ankle sprain. He missed six games in 2024. He was alternating days practicing and off through much of training camp in early August. At one point last month he missed four straight practices with what Macdonald termed a sore foot.
On Aug. 17, after Walker returned to practicing, Macdonald said his lead back needed to practice more consistently.
“It’s a balance,” the head coach said last month.
“There’s a lot of walk-through reps that need to be had. But at some point, to your point, you’ve got to do it on the field so that you feel confident here and execute at a high level and play your best football.
“That’s something that we’re working through.”
Walker appared to get the coach’s message. He began practicing on consecutive days through the end of August.
Yet the foot has remained an issue. It’s related to the ankle injury that ended his 2024 season. The Seahawks have been managing it into this season.
No one is saying Walker’s foot is the reason, but there is a possible cause-and-effect to how he ran against the 49ers. It relates to how well, or poorly, the offensive line targets then blocks defenders out of the running lane.
NFL NextGen Stats has two analytical numbers to measure how much traffic a running back faces at the line of scrimmage.
Efficiency percentage for running backs measures decisiveness. The lower the efficiency rate, the more north-south running for that ball carrier. Walker had the opposite, the NFL’s largest efficiency percentage in week one. He was the league’s most east-west runner, the least decisive ball carrier at running up the field, per NextGen Stats. Walker also had the lowest rushing yards over expected, negative 2.06 yards per rush.
NextGen Stats also measures the average time a running back spent with the ball behind the line of scrimmage. That also is an indicator of lateral running upon receiving a handoff or pitch, and of getting stacked up with no clearly blocked hole to run through.
Charbonnet had the league’s fourth-longest average time behind the line of scrimmage on carries, 3.03 seconds, per NextGen Stats.
So neither back was rippin’ it. Neither was consistently getting the ball, seeing a clear rushing lane and sprinting through it.
There were next-to-no clear rushing lanes against the 49ers — again. Seattle lost to San Francisco for the seventh time in eight games. “It seemed to me when we get it targeted and we’re all on the same page, we’re doing a lot of good stuff,” Macdonald said. “When we have some indecisiveness, that’s when things got twisted a little bit. ...
“I think it’s fair to say when we’re not running the ball effectively, we’re either not hitting our targets, we’re wrongly leveraged (against defenders at the point of attack), or maybe not taking the right path,” Macdonald said.
Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) carries the ball 8 yards during the fourth quarter of the game at Lumen Field, on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in Seattle. Brian Hayes bhayes@thenewstribune.com
The fourth quarter was the only time Walker and the Seahawks running game got going. He rushed behind better blocking for 8, 5 and 4 yards on a drive to a go-ahead field goal and 13-10 lead.
But with Seattle down 17-13 late 49ers weakside linebacker Dee Winters scraped hard behind blocks and slammed unblocked into Walker running off right tackle for a loss of a yard.
On the next play, Darnold was targeting Walker for a check-down pass short. Bosa pushed right tackle Abe Lucas into the quarterback for the game-deciding fumble Seattle lost with 36 seconds left.
For the day, Walker was tackled by an unblocked defender charging at him four times in his 10 carries.
Earlier Monday on his radio show with KIRO AM, Macdonald said there are “some details we need to clean up” on the offensive line, including targeting run blocks. He also mentioned wide receivers such as debuting Tory Horton needing to run block.
On his Monday radio show the coach said of Walker and Charbonnet against the 49ers: “Both played well, I thought. I got to go back and get some more details on who got what read and what was there (in the hole) for what guy. We’ll kind get all that stuff ironed out.
“But, thought both guys are playing well. Protected our quarterback. Thought they caught the ball well (Walker had three receptions on three targets, for 4 yards).
“There are going to be more opportunities for both of them moving forward,” Macdonald reiterated, “and that’s how we’re going to treat it.”
Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) picks up 7-yards on the run as San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner (54) gets his hand in his mask during the fourth quarter of the game at Lumen Field, on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in Seattle. Brian Hayes bhayes@thenewstribune.com
Where was play-action passing?
The Seahawks hired Kubiak to run play-action passes off the running game. They traded Geno Smith and signed Darnold for Darnold’s particular effectiveness throwing play-action passes.
Against the 49ers, Darnold threw two true play-action passes in 25 drop backs (23 throws, one sack, one scramble for 5 yards). That was the lowest rate of play-action passes for any NFL quarterback in week one, according to Pro Football Focus.
The Seahawks were the only team not to run one play with pre-snap motion then a play-action pass.
“We need to action more,” Macdonald said. “We need more movement, we’ll call it.
“We’ll execute it when called.”
In Pittsburgh Sunday, they’ve got to run it better to call more play-action passes. And they might. The Jets shredded Pittsburgh’s run defense in week one. The Steelers allowed 182 yards rushing last weekend. Breece Hall rushed for 107 yards on just 19 carries, an average of 5.6 yards per rush. Quarterback Justin Fields ran for 48 yards on Pittsburgh. Walker believes in Kubiak’s commitment to running the ball more consistently than in any of the lead back’s three previous with the Seahawks.
“I believe him because that’s what we work on in practice,” Walker said during training camp. “You can say the past years, we didn’t practice it as much, so you know you’re not going to go out to the game and do it. But we’ve been practicing it a lot, and we’re real detailed with the run game.
"So, I believe it wholeheartedly that we’re going to go out and run the ball.”
That’s where Kubiak’s and the Seahawks’ offensive game plan begins this week.
Of course, that’s where it began last week.
“But, a lot of positives,” Macdonald said Monday. “Guys were finishing plays the right way. And there’s a lot of stuff that we can build on moving forward.”
Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) celebrates the first touchdown during the second quarter of the game at Lumen Field, on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in Seattle. Brian Hayes bhayes@thenewstribune.com