Kenneth Walker III
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The Seattle Seahawks can replace Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III with a "boatload" trade scenario in the first round of the 2026 NFL draft.
Replacing the player who powered them to victory in Super Bowl LX is proving tricky for the Seattle Seahawks, but they can finally move on from Kenneth Walker III by trading a “boatload” of picks in the 2026 NFL draft to acquire a new workhorse running back in Round 1.
It’s a scenario mapped out by Craig Ellenport of Athlon Sports. He names the Seahawks among the teams who should be most interested in trading up for Notre Dame star Jeremiyah Love, although Ellenport believes it may be harder than most for the defending champs to strike a deal.
Ellenport acknowledges that “with the final pick of the first round as their best draft capital, Seattle would have to put together a boatload of current and future picks to move up — but it would be well worth it.”
The reasons for Seahawks general manager John Schneider doing what it takes to move up the board for Love are obvious. Ellenport pointed out how “when the 2026 season begins, Zach Charbonnet will still be recovering from an ACL tear suffered in the playoffs, so the hole created by the loss of Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III in free agency is not insignificant. An offense featuring Love and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba would be fun to watch.”
Walker joining the Kansas City Chiefs in 2026 NFL free agency left the Seahawks without the engine of their offense. That’s incentive enough to target Love on draft day, even after the team hosted a veteran back who’s a former first-rounder.
Jeremiyah Love a Natural Fit for Seahawks
As the consensus best running back in this class, Love is a natural fit for any team, but he’d be a seamless addition to a Seattle offense predicated on the ground game. That won’t change even though Klint Kubiak is no longer offensive coordinator.
The Seahawks replaced Kubiak with Brian Fleury, a coach tied to the zone-based, run-first schemes of San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. Fleury will need a bell-cow back to make the same approach work now he’s been elevated to play-caller, and Love is an ideal candidate.
He proved as much by showing off legitimate breakaway, track speed at the Scouting Combine.
Love also possesses useful receiving skills and credible power between the tackles. Those traits add up to a true three-down playmaker, but the Seahawks may be reluctant to part with draft capital to get him, particularly given what good use Schneider has made of his picks in recent years.
The Seahawks also believe they can get running back help outside of the opening round. It’s where Schneider found Walker when he made him the 41st-overall pick in 2022.
Kenneth Walker III Tough to Replace
Walker was always going to command marquee money after his prolific postseason, but Schneider held firm in his desire not to overpay. The GM told Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob, “That’s a position that you can find guys, and obviously, (Walker was) outstanding, and everybody’s really excited for him. I mean, that’s a great, great contract for a running back, but George [Holani] did a great job. We’re really excited about Emmanuel Wilson, who we got from Green Bay, a heavy runner with really nice feet.”
Seattle Sports
“That’s a position where you can find guys…but George [Holani] did a great job and we’re really excited about Emmanuel Wilson…We know where we’re at right now.” #Seahawks GM John Schneider breaks down where Seattle’s running back room sits at this point in the offseason on
Schneider’s confidence in the backs already on the roster is commendable, but none of them are as dynamic as Walker, nor Love. The latter is also considered the sixth-best prospect in this rookie class by Max Chadwick of the PFF CFB Show.
Chadwick has the next running back graded at 61st, a gap “bigger than any other position in the draft,” so it might not be as easy as Schneider thinks to find a worthy replacement for Walker beyond the first round.