Player: Kenneth Walker III
Team: Seattle Seahawks
Pick: 52nd Overall (Round 2 // Pick 9)
On the latest episode of the Razzball Fantasy Football Podcast Bobby LaMarco is joined by Razzball great B_DON. B_DON jumps on the podcast to talk about the Seahawks’ new RB Kenneth Walker III and his fit in Seattle. To hear our full analysis, check out the YouTube video included with this article. And see where Walker ranks on our new consensus rookie rankings for 2022 fantasy football dynasty leagues and 2022 fantasy football ADP pages!
In the 2nd round of the 2022 NFL draft, Kenneth Walker III was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks after a monster junior season at Michigan State. Walker rushed for 1,636 yards and 18 TDs while finishing 6th in the Heisman voting in 2021. Walker’s profile and his college production should have us on the edge of our seats. His 99th percentile college dominator and 98th percentile 40-yard dash shows us not only that he can handle a full workload, but he has the explosiveness to make him special in the NFL. This is reflected in his player comps on playerprofiler.com as he is directly linked to RBs like LaDainian Tomlinson and Todd Gurley who finished as the RB1 overall in fantasy.
Now heading to Seattle, Walker will look to supplant current stater Rashaad Penny. Penny a former first-round pick, finally broke out late in 2021. Over the final 5 weeks of the season, Penny was the RB1 overall in fantasy. During this stretch, Penny rushed for a league-high 671 yards and 6 TDs. It’s not a given that Walker will step in right away and take over for Penny. However, with Penny only under contract for 1 more season and the long-term health of Chris Carson in question, his time could be on the horizon sooner rather than later.
Currently, Walker’s best ball ADP sits at RB29 and 81st overall. This puts him slightly ahead of notable veteran RBs Devin Singletary, Kareem Hunt, and Rashaad Penny. It might not be a terrible strategy to draft both Walker and Penny at the 7/8 turn to see how this backfield shakes out. We would prefer that strategy with the Bills’ RBs going in the same range as they are tied to Josh Allen. In dynasty rookie rankings, Walker sits as the 4th overall pick. This draft cost puts him right ahead of WRs Garrett Wilson, Treylon Burks, and Chris Olave. Walker’s elite comps along with a clear path to a 3-down role as soon as 2023, puts him in the discussion as a top 2 rookie pick based on team need in 2022. To hear our full analysis, check out the YouTube video above or listen to the podcast audio below.Â
Sources: Razzball.com, Player Profiler, RotoHeat, Fantasy Pros, Pro Football Reference, Pro Football Focus, Spotrac.com, Overthecap.com, Fantrax, Ourlads, Bestball 10s, Underdog Fantasy, and NFC
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