Kenneth Walker III faces a crucial test against the Rams' Nate Landman. Can Walker's explosive runs overcome Landman's tackling prowess to fuel a Seahawks Super Bowl run?
With Seattle Seahawks' running back Zach Charbonnet suffering a big knee injury in the Divisional, Kenneth Walker III is set to play an even bigger role than usual in the NFC Championship against the Los Angeles Rams.
And Seahawks fans know that the 25-year-old back can set up to a challenge.
In a recent article from Cameron DaSilva of Rams Wire, he breaks down six matchups that could prove to be key in the NFC title game on Sunday, and Walker vs. Rams linebacker Nate Landman was one of them.
"Landman has had some struggles with tackling and angles in recent weeks but he has to be at his best against someone as elusive and explosive as Walker," DaSilva writes. "The Seahawks have leaned on their run game and taken pressure off of Sam Darnold to carry the load, so the Rams will try to reverse that and force Darnold to beat them."
As the No. 2 back in terms of carries this season, Charbonnet still finished the year with an impressive 730 yards and 12 touchdowns.
He took a lot of the pressure off of Walker, and No. 9 will have to learn to play without his backfield partner for the remainder of the Seahawks' time in the playoffs.
But Walker is no slouch either.
The star back finished 2025 with his most rushing yards since his rookie season with 1,027, and he did so on an impressive 4.6 yards per carry. He also added in five touchdowns, and was a threat in the receiving game.
Of his five scores on the season, two of them came against the Rams, so Seattle knows that he can do some damage against their NFC title game opponent. But he will have Landman to deal with.
The fourth year man out of Colorado had a career year in 2025 with 132 total tackles and eight tackles for loss. He was also able to show his ability to get to the quarterback with 2.5 sacks.
So Walker, as well as Sam Darnold, will no doubt have their hands full.
But if the team wants to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2014 season, Walker will need to step up and be that star back that everyone in Seattle knows that he is.