The fantasy football playoffs are here for some and approaching for others. No matter your league, this time of year is what you prepare for. With that in mind, here’s the latest on the injuries to Seattle Seahawks running backs Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet as managers look to lock in their Week 14 lineups!
Latest News and Injury Updates Impacting Fantasy
Kenneth Walker III
Walker has missed consecutive games as he battles an oblique injury. While he was able to participate in a light walkthrough earlier this week, he’s yet to practice and could be trending toward a third straight DNP.
MORE: PFN’s FREE NFL Playoff Predictor
Walker was a fantasy star over the first two months of the season (top-15 performer at the position in four of his first five games), but his volume was trending in the wrong direction prior to suffering this injury in Week 11.
He still deserves to be labeled as the starter in this backfield when everyone is healthy, but the 18-20 touch role that we saw through most of October is more than likely a thing of the past.
Zach Charbonnet
Coming out of a strong performance against the Cowboys last week (20 touches for 99 yards and a touchdown), a knee injury cropped up and has held the explosive rookie out of practice up to this point. He was labeled as DNP in practice on Wednesday this week.
In the two games Walker has missed, Charbonnet has averaged 19 touches, a stretch that includes the first meeting with the 49ers, Seattle’s Week 14 opponent. In that game, Charbonnet was the clear workhorse (85.7% of their RB touches), but by giving fantasy managers just 0.37 fantasy points per touch, the volume didn’t mean much when it comes to the bottom line.
I’ll keep this article updated, but our PFN News Tracker is also a great resource for the latest happenings across the league.
Week 14 vs. San Francisco 49ers
This week, the Seahawks face their division rivals, the San Francisco 49ers. They’re currently 10.5-point underdogs, something that makes sense given that San Francisco beat them 31-13 just two weeks ago in Seattle.
In that game, Seahawks RBs ran for just 57 yards on 16 carries. Seattle held the ball for only 24.5 minutes in the loss, and their lone touchdown was a 12-yard pick-six by Jordan Brooks.
However, the Seahawks did get the benefit of the “mini bye” this week after posting arguably their most impressive offensive showing last Thursday night in Dallas (35 points).
In this difficult matchup, neither Walker nor Charbonnet should be locked into fantasy lineups (as discussed in the Week 14 Cheat Sheet). If one sits, that at least gives the other enough projectable volume to approach the low-end RB2 tier this week (in the Gus Edwards range). But if both should play, neither would be a top-25 option at the position due to the uncertain touch distribution.
Should both sit, DeeJay Dallas projects as the leader in backfield touches, but he wouldn’t grade out as a top-30 option. In this instance, the passing game gets a minor bump due to projected volume, moving Tyler Lockett onto the fringe of the Flex discussion and keeping DK Metcalf as a fine WR2 in all formats.
MORE: Should You Start Aaron Jones or AJ Dillon in Fantasy Football Week 14?
The Seahawks do get an extra day of rest heading into Week 15 — a Monday night battle with the Eagles — so that is worth noting. That said, the Philadelphia matchup is a brutal one, and if this is a 50/50 timeshare, fantasy managers are going to have a hard time feeling good about starting either Seattle RB in the fantasy playoffs.
Looking to make a trade in your fantasy league? Having trouble deciding who to start and who to sit? Setting DFS lineups? Check out PFN’s Free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer, Start/Sit Optimizer, and DFS Lineup Optimizer to help you make the right decision!