The Kansas City Chiefs signed Kenneth Walker III to give them an actual running game, and KC's gain is Seattle's loss.
The Kansas City Chiefs have a new running back in Kenneth Walker III, and they’ve been talking him up throughout minicamp and training camp. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been especially complimentary, saying that Walker has the ability to turn ordinary runs into ten-yard gains and more, and the Chiefs signed Walker in large part based on his ability to do just that.
But his old team, the Seattle Seahawks, didn’t believe Walker was worth paying, as they let him walk during an offseason that was mostly about paying to keep their key players. Whether that’s actually a snub has been a subject of ongoing debate that revolves around Walker’s value, and we’re about to learn a lot about that tonight.
The Seahawks elected to stand pat at running back, and Walker’s more explosive counterpart, Zach Charbonnet, is still on the PUP list going into the season. Seattle’s depth chart going into their Week 1 home opener against the New England Patriots lists Jadarian Price, George Holani and Emanuel Wilson at running back, and that’s definitely a snub of sorts.
Price is the rookie who ran behind Jerimiyah Love at Notre Dame, and he’s probably going to become a quality back based on his pedigree, as he was lauded for his work for the Fighting Irish to the point where the Seahawks made him their first-round pick to replace Walker.
But Price is facing a tough challenge tonight, as the Patriots will undoubtedly throw a variety of blitzes and aggressive looks at the Seattle offense tonight.
Seattle’s answer to this issue will come from a new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury, who was hired away from the San Francisco 49ers during the offseason to replace Klint Kubiak, who’s now the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Fleury is expected to keep most of Kubiak’s offense intact. His schemes are expected to feature more motion and pre-snap movement, as well as a more creative use of the tight ends. Receivers like Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Rashid Shaheed and Cooper Cupp are expected to be moved around more to add some new looks.
That means quarterback Sam Darnold will have to do more, which isn’t always a good idea. Kubiak who used a strong running game to simplify things for the turnover-prone quarterback, but it’s hard to imagine Price providing what Walker supplied last year right out of the gate. It’s going to be interesting to watch, and definitely a storyline to follow as the Chiefs turn to Walker to power their offense this season.
