Here’s our 2023 fantasy football outlook for Kenneth Walker III.

Kenneth Walker III stood as the RB8 from Weeks 6-17 after Rashaad Penny was placed on IR with a season-ending injury. The rookie was the RB9 in points per game. If you remove the two games he missed due to injury (Weeks 13/14), he averaged 16.4 fantasy points per game, which would have placed him as the RB8 in points per game. Walker III’s late ADP last season made him a draft-day steal.

We all knew that Penny was never going to be “the guy” for the long run based on his injury track record and that Walker III would likely take over RB1 duties as an uber-talented second-round pick. He did just that and got absolutely fed after returning from a late-season ankle injury. Walker III was either consistently playing 70 percent-plus snaps or carrying the ball 23-plus times.

At times, we even saw Walker III earn targets while leading the backfield in routes run. But overall, he underwhelmed as a receiver, as he did at the college level. And his tendency to look for home runs rushes resulted in a rushing success rate that ranked second-to-last (31.4%) among rushers with at least 100 carries in 2022. He also missed games because of injuries.

His path to RB1 upside will be that much tougher to realize after the team added Zach Charbonnet in the second round of this year’s draft. Charbonnet posted the fifth-highest PFF receiving grade and tied for first in receptions per game (3.7) among his draft class. The former UCLA running back also finished with the highest positive run rate (57%) and lowest bust rate (4%) among drafted running backs.

The rookie Seahawk can’t deliver explosive rushes like Walker III, but he can be trusted to hit doubles as a rusher and receiver consistently. That’s concerning for those hoping Walker III was stepping into a workhorse role this season, which was very appealing about his fantasy profile last year.

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