Kenneth Walker III News

Facing perhaps the best run defense in the league, Walker held his own and ran in a seven-yard score early in the second quarter for Seattle's first points of the day. The running back's playoff effort capped a rookie season that saw him compile 1,050 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground despite not taking over the starting role until Week 6. Walker should begin the 2023 campaign as the unquestioned No. 1 back for Seattle even if Rashaad Penny (ankle) gets re-signed.

Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker (ankle) is not on the injury report for the Wild Card Round against the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday. Walker was held out of practice on Wednesday after being a full participant on Tuesday, but the second-round pick is good to go for his postseason debut. He will have a tough matchup against the 49ers and could potentially lose passing-down snaps to DeeJay Dallas if the Seahawks fall behind. Dallas out-targeted Walker 11-4 over the final three weeks of the regular season. Per numberFire's NFL Heat Map, the Seahawks are 9.5-point underdogs on Saturday, setting up a negative game script for Walker. The 49ers are also allowing only 14.0 FanDuel points per game to running backs, 2.2 fewer than any other defense. Our models project Walker for 19.7 touches and 80.8 yards in the Wild Card Round.

Walker avoided Seattle's first injury report of the week entirely Tuesday before showing up one day later as a non-participant due to the ankle injury that has lingered since early December. With his status cleared up ahead of the weekend, though, Wednesday's absence clearly was maintenance-based, likely to keep the rookie second-round pick as healthy as possible. Walker thus is set to lead the team's backfield Saturday, which has resulted in 98 touches for 450 yards from scrimmage and no TDs over the last four contests.

Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker (ankle) was a non-participant in Wednesday's practice. After Walker was listed as an estimated full participant in Tuesday's walk-through, Seattle's rookie running back was unable to practice during Wednesday's session. In a matchup against a San Francisco's defense allowing 13.7 FanDuel points per game to running backs, expect DeeJay Dallas to see more touches if Walker is inactive. Walker's current projection includes 17.1 rushing attempts for 64.8 yards and 2.4 receptions for 15.6 yards.

Walker wasn't listed on Tuesday's estimated injury report, so his absence one day later likely is maintenance-based due to the ankle issue that he's dealt with since early December. It remains to be seen if he'll be able to rid himself of a designation ahead of Saturday's wild-card game at San Francisco, which will be confirmed, one way or another, on Thursday's report. Since getting hurt Week 13 at the Rams, Walker sat out Week 14 but since then has reeled off 98 touches for 450 yards from scrimmage and no TDs over the last four contests.

Walker saw a career-high 29 rushing attempts, his third consecutive game with at least 20 carries. He wasn't particularly efficient -- he averaged 3.9 yards per carry -- though he did manage a couple long gains of 20 and 15 yards. Walker closed an impressive rookie campaign with 1,050 rushing yards, which is made even more notable due to the fact that he had only 58 yards through Week 4. The Seahawks await their postseason fate, but Walker will be a key to any potential playoff run for the team.