The Seattle Seahawks will face the Los Angeles Ramss in Week 18. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding RB Kenneth Walker.
Is Kenneth Walker Playing in Week 18?
The Seahawks placed Kenneth Walker III (ankle) on injured reserve last week, ending a season that, in my opinion, has underwhelmed.
We’ll continue to monitor the Seahawks’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Kenneth Walker’s Fantasy Outlook
After clearing 18 PPR points in four of the first seven weeks this season, Walker didn’t reach 15 PPR points in a single game again. After that initial surge, his fantasy production was 29.6% below expectation as he struggled to generate the splash plays that we’ve come to associate with him.
Walker’s rush rates by season:
- 2022: 43.9% of carries vs. loaded box and 12.7% of carries gained 10+ yards
- 2023: 43.4% of carries vs. loaded box and 11% of carries gained 10+ yards
- 2024: 33.3% of carries vs. loaded box and 8.5% of carries gained 10+ yards
These rates scare me, but they don’t terrify me the way they would if Zach Charbonnet seized the opportunity (remove one outlier carry, and his yards per carry drops 9.3% down to 3.8 this season).
I’m not going to go as far as to say that I’m encouraged by 2024, but the usage in a passing game that is trending toward conservative with Jaxon Smith-Njigba ascending has me optimistic.
Walker’s pass-catching rates by season:
2022: 11.9% on-field target share and a 2.7% red-zone target rate
2023: 15.2% on-field target share and a 13% red-zone target rate
2024: 20.2% on-field target share and a 30.8% red-zone target rate
With Geno Smith under center for another year, I think we can pencil in a healthy version of Walker as the RB1 in Seattle and a weekly fantasy lineup lock – you just invest with eyes wide open to the fact that Walker has missed multiple games in all three of his NFL seasons.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 18 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.