The Seattle Seahawks will look to bounce back from their first loss of the season as home favorites against the New York Giants. But will they have their top running back, Kenneth Walker III, to help them?
Will Kenneth Walker III Be Active in Week 5?
Walker was on the injury report to begin the week with an oblique injury, but he was a full participant by Friday and has no injury designation entering the game.
Full Seahawks injury report from today.
Tyrice situation is unclear (personal). Outside of that, it sounds like everyone else good to go for Sunday pic.twitter.com/N7BJYl47jz
— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar)
Walker missed the Seahawks’ games in Weeks 2 and 3 with an oblique injury he suffered in the season opener. However, he appears to have gotten through his first game back without a setback, putting him in position to reclaim his bell-cow role against the Giants.
Moving forward, Walker’s fantasy managers can expect to see him appear on injury reports with that oblique injury throughout the weeks as the team manages the condition.
What Is Walker’s Fantasy Value in Week 5?
Pro Football Network’s Week 5 rankings have Walker as the RB8 overall, making him a back-end RB1. Clearly, he’s a must-start after piling up four rushing scores in his first two games played, which has him just one shy of the NFL lead despite his time missed.
The Giants have been a stingy fantasy defense against running backs, ranking sixth in PPR points per game allowed to the position (12.1). However, Walker could match up well against New York, given his propensity for breaking tackles.
Kenneth Walker III has an advantage after contact vs. the Giants
Walker III ranks among the top RBs in yards after contact per carry, which bodes well in this matchup against a New York defense that ranks 31st in yards after contact allowed per rush to RBs pic.twitter.com/wcFDJkhn2y
— PFF SEA Seahawks (@PFF_Seahawks)
In a small sample this year, Walker ranks seventh with 3.7 yards after contact per carry. He also averaged 3.0 yac from 2022-23, which ranked 18th among running backs in that span.
Walker’s fantasy managers shouldn’t expect to see any workload restrictions. In Week 4 against the Detroit Lions, he played 60% of the snaps and took 63% of the rushing attempts. That’s right in line with Week 1 when he played 67% of the snaps and took 61% of the carries.
Zach Charbonnet performed at an RB1 level in two games without Walker (17.8 PPR points per game, three rushing touchdowns) and should remain rostered as a handcuff. However, Charbonnet saw just two rush attempts against the Lions and hasn’t sniffed near the goal line in two games with Walker active. Thus, he’s back to being a bench handcuff with value to the Walker manager but little else.
