Last week saw fantasy football managers get a scare when Seattle Seahawks RB left the game with an oblique injury. While those are not the most serious injuries, the issue was compounded by the Seahawks playing on a short week in the final Thanksgiving Day game. Let’s examine whether Walker will be playing in Week 12 and the fantasy implications of his absence.
Is Kenneth Walker III Going to Play in Week 12?
While it is not official on the Seahawks injury report, for all intents and purposes, fantasy managers should proceed as if Walker will not be playing in Week 12. The doubtful tag is bizarre because rarely does a player tagged with it ever play. Using it is almost like a coach holding out hope for some kind of overnight recovery miracle for their player.
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Seahawks head coach Carroll told the media on Wednesday that “Kenneth is not going to make it” for the game against the San Francisco 49ers. However, he also stated that they left it as doubtful “because you never know” and added, “he may wake up in the morning and say ‘I can go,’ but he wasn’t able to do anything this week.”
As Carroll stated, Walker was listed as an estimated non-participant all week for the Seahawks. All three days were estimations on the short week as the Seahawks did not hold a full practice. The hope will be that Walker can suit up and play in Week 13 when the Seahawks face the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football.
Potential Fantasy Options if Walker Is Out Include Zach Charbonnet, DeeJay Dallas, and Kenny McIntosh
With Walker out, it will likely be Zach Charbonneyt who leads the Seahawks backfield this week. Last week, Charbonnet stepped in and had 69 total yards on 21 touches. That was the most usage the rookie RB has had this season, with Walker having played all 10 games as the lead back to that point.
Charbonnet’s lack of efficiency last week, where he averaged a little over three yards per touch, is not usual for him. Previously, he had been playing in specific situations as a change-of-pace option to Walker, which afforded him more freedom. On the season, Charbonnet is averaging 4.9 yards per attempt and 4.8 yards per reception.
Fantasy managers will be hoping Charbonnet can step in and deliver this week. If he can get close to the range of that 4.5 yards per touch, then we could be looking at around 75-100 yards based on Walker’s usage of around 17-20 touches per game. That would be a solid return as a fill-in option.
The other two backs set to be active are DeeJay Dallas and Kenny McIntosh. Dallas had touched the ball 11 times on offense this year, while McIntosh has yet to be active. Dallas has primarily been a special teams option, and we may see the Seahawks try to get him the ball in space and see what plays he can make offensively. However, any fantasy value is going to likely be big-play dependent.
McIntosh’s senior season at Georgia demonstrated he has potential, but he is a wild card in this game from a fantasy perspective. We have no idea what role, if any, he will play for the Seahawks.
If you are looking for a shot-in-the-dark fantasy option to replace Walker, Elijah Mitchell could see a bigger role this week if San Francisco looks to control Christian McCaffry’s workload on a short week. Mitchell is equally an unknown, but we have a better idea of what he can be in an NFL setting than we do with McIntosh.
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