Seattle Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III has sent fantasy football managers and Seahawks fans into a spin with the news he’s dealing with a calf injury in Week 8. Let’s look at the latest injury update for Walker, whether he is expected to play in Week 8, and what it all means for his and Zach Charbonnet’s fantasy managers.
Latest Injury Update on Kenneth Walker III
It was somewhat of a surprise when Walker popped up on the Seahawks’ injury report as a non-participant on Wednesday. Then he remained absent from practice on Thursday, which sent the concern level skyrocketing.
What we currently know is that Walker is dealing with a calf injury bad enough to stop him from practicing for two straight days. We haven’t had any word from Seattle on the severity of the injury, so all eyes and ears will be trained on their practice report and Pete Carroll when he speaks on Friday.
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On Friday the Seahawks released their game statuses and Walker was not given any designation suggesting he is cleared for Week 8.
Walker did not appear to show any signs of the calf injury last week, playing 80% of the offensive snaps. That was actually his highest snap share of the season, with his 29 opportunities also a season high.
Will Walker Play This Week?
As of Thursday, things did not look good for Walker’s availability in Week 8. However, with him not being given any status for Sunday it would suggest he will be good to go when the Seahawks play the Browns in Week 8.
Rarely do we see a player not practice all week and then suit up on Sunday. Usually, we need to see them get in at least one limited practice a week to be available on game day. Therefore, all attention was always going to be directed to the Seahawks’ practice reports on Friday.
As it turns out we found out before that when Seattle released its game-day status. The Seahawks are one of several teams that release their game-day status report ahead of their final practice report.
What Does This Mean for Walker’s and Zach Charbonnet’s Fantasy Ranking?
Early in the week, PFN’s Consensus Rankings had Walker inside the top-10 RB options in all formats. However, the injury news has seen a couple of our analysts starting to drop him as it becomes less clear whether he will play and in what capacity.
If Walker is questionable, then expect his ranking to settle somewhere around the top-24 mark. As long as we don’t hear that he will be on a snap count, the talented RB is likely someone fantasy managers will still want to lean on.
Walker leads the team with 109 rush attempts for 450 yards and six rushing touchdowns. He has also added 106 receiving yards on 13 receptions from 16 targets.
If Walker is out or limited, then Charbonnet would be expected to take on a bigger role. The rookie RB has 23 carries for 109 yards and 36 receiving yards on six receptions. He has played second fiddle to Walker for the majority of the season but is the only other Seahawks back with more than 10 opportunities this season.
Deep-league fantasy managers may want to consider a speculative add on either DeeJay Dallas or Kenny McIntosh. Dallas played as the RB2 last week when Charbonnet was ruled out. However, Seattle chose to use him mostly on special teams as they leaned heavily on Walker.
McIntosh is the wild card that hasn’t played all season, but the seventh-round pick could be trending to get on the field this week. If Walker is out, could we see an all-rookie backfield for Seattle in Week 8?
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