Dynasty league fantasy football managers should always evaluate their rosters to determine the best options for their teams as the 2024 NFL year approaches. In our Dynasty Football Fight #1, we will analyze Kenneth Walker III vs. Zach Charbonnet! Who ya got?
When NFL teams draft accordingly, they always have a player ready to fight for a starting role should the current starter have an injury or not perform. This article will examine the Dynasty Football Fight between Zach Charbonnet, who appears ready for an expanded role in the Seahawks offense and your fantasy roster after a solid rookie season, and Kenneth Walker III, the incumbent and two-year veteran who has produced in each of his first two years and appears to be getting better.
Measurables:
Kenneth Walker
Age: 23 (entering age 24 NFL season)
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 211 pounds
40 yd: 4.38 seconds
Draft Year: 2022
Zach Charbonnet
Age: 23 (entering age 23 NFL season)
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 214 pounds
40 yd: 4.53 seconds
Draft Year:2023
College Production:
Kenneth Walker III was a relative unknown entering college. Walker was a 2-star prospect with an overall grade of 77. He spent his first two seasons playing for the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest, where he amassed 1,158 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns. In his lone season with Michigan State, Walker exploded for 1,636 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns.
He totaled 3,069 all-purpose yards and 38 touchdowns throughout his college career.
With his explosive 2021 season at Michigan State, Walker earned the 2021 Walter Camp Award (Player of the Year), 2021 Doak Walker Award (Top Running Back), 2021 Co-Offensive Big 10 Player of the Year, was a unanimous 1st All-American and finished 6th in voting for the Heisman Award.
Entering college, Zach Charobonnet was a 4-star recruit with an overall grade of 97. He was the 38th-overall recruit and the 4th-rated running back in the country. Initially, Charbonnet enrolled and played for two years at Michigan but then transferred to UCLA when playing time was muddled with the likes of Blake Corum flashing immense potential.
In 22 games at UCLA, Charbonnet amassed 2,496 yards rushing with 27 rushing touchdowns. In addition, he caught 61 passes for 518 yards.
While at UCLA, Charbonnet was first-team All-Pac-12, second-team All-American, and a semi-finalist for the Doak Walker (college top running back) and Walter Camp (player of the year) awards.
NFL Beginnings
Walker was the 41st player drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft. Walker was the 2nd running back drafted behind only Breece Hall. In his rookie season, Walker ran for 1,050 yards on 228 carries, a 4.61-yard average. He also logged nine rushing touchdowns. In addition, Walker grabbed 27 passes for 165 yards. Kenneth Walker and Curt Warner are the only two Seahawks to rush for over 1,000 yards in their rookie seasons.
He went on to finish second in voting for the prestigious NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award; although Walker did receive the most 1st place votes, the overall voting named Garret Wilson the winner.
In Walker's second season, he rushed for 905 yards on 219 carries with eight touchdowns. He also made 29 receptions for 259 yards and a touchdown.
Charbonnet was the 52nd player drafted in the 2023 NFL Draft. Charbonnet was the 3rd running back drafted behind only Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs. In Charbonnet's rookie season, he rushed for 462 yards on 108 carries, a 4.28-yard average per rush. Charbonnet also had 33 receptions for 209 yards. And in Charbonnet's last two games, he out-snapped his counterpart in Walker.
Highlighting Charbonnet’s rookie season was his Week 13 game against the Dallas Cowboys. Charbonnet rushed for 60 yards on 19 carries with one touchdown while also grabbing one reception for 39 yards. His performance in Week 13 placed him as running back 13 for the week.
Fantasy Production
In 2023, Walker saw his fantasy production continue from his rookie season. Per 100 snaps, Walker averaged 33.9 points, ranking him 9th among running backs. He totaled 202.4 fantasy points, the 19th-highest ranking for a running back in PPR formats.
In Walker's rookie season, he produced 212.5 fantasy points, ranking him the 18th-best PPR running back.
Throughout his rookie season, the Seattle coaches became more comfortable with Charbonnet on the field. In 16 games, Charbonnet totaled 106.1 fantasy points. He rushed for 462 yards and accounted for 209 yards receiving. The alarming statistic is Charbonnet only noticed one touchdown during the season.
Dynasty Decision
Both players are entering their “prime” years as a running back. And one can argue that both are still viable assets in Dynasty football. However, in the end, one fantasy manager will be reaping the benefits of a fantasy contributor, while the other continues to wait for their player to break out and warrant a starting spot in your lineup.
With Ryan Grubb hired as the new offensive coordinator for the upcoming 2024 season, it's hard to predict the future for the Seahawks offense. Grubb, formerly the offensive coordinator for the Washington Huskies (NCAAF), has exclusively worked at the college level, giving us little knowledge on how he sees an NFL offense functioning. Dillon Johnson was the lead back for the Huskies and dominated the backfield with 70% of the rushes by a running back. Using one back exclusively may indicate that the Seahawks may employ a similar backfield and lean heavily on one player.
In his two years on the Seahawks roster, Kenneth Walker has done everything asked of him on the field. It was curious to see Seattle draft Zach Charbonnet in the 2nd round of last year's draft after drafting Walker with a 2nd round pick the year before. In weeks 17 and 18, Charbonnet's snap share was 57% and 53%, respectively.
Walker's snap share was 43% and 49% in the same span, respectively. In many ways, that would indicate the Seahawks were moving away from a "bell-cow" backfield and utilizing a two-headed monster with Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet splitting time on the field. However, Grubb's running back usage would contradict that if he continues his philosophy from college to the NFL.
In any Dynasty Football Fight, there can only be one winner (we don't give trophies to all the participants in the IDP+ world). By past performance and still being in his prime years to perform as a top-tier fantasy running back, I give the nod to Kenneth Walker.
The key statistic for me was the points per 100 snaps. That illustrated how effective Walker was in 2023 on a per-snap basis. And, if Grubb employs a lead back as he did in college, then Kenneth Walker appears primed and ready to be the lead back for the Seattle Seahawks.
The Winner of this Dynasty Football Fight is Kenneth Walker.
Thank you for taking the time to read my Dynasty Football Fight between Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. Please follow me @JGoody77 or links by @IDPGuys in the “X” World and check out more articles by me on IDP+.
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