The Chiefs are heading into this season with Kenneth Walker III in a role they believe can change the feel of their offense, and that puts Seattle in the spotlight tonight.
Kansas City has spent minicamp and training camp talking up Walker, with Patrick Mahomes especially vocal about what he can bring. Mahomes said Walker has the ability to turn ordinary runs into ten-yard gains and more, and that kind of burst is a big reason the Chiefs made the move to bring him in. They want a real ground game, and Walker is being handed that job.
Seattle, meanwhile, chose a different path. The Seahawks let Walker go in an offseason that was mostly about paying to keep their key players, and they decided not to spend on him. That decision has fueled the ongoing debate about whether Walker was overlooked, and tonight offers a fresh look at that question.
The Seahawks also didn’t make a splash at running back to replace him. Zach Charbonnet, Walker’s more explosive counterpart, is still on the PUP list entering the season. On the depth chart for their Week 1 home opener against the New England Patriots, Seattle lists Jadarian Price, George Holani and Emanuel Wilson at running back.
Price is the rookie from Notre Dame, where he ran behind Jerimiyah Love. The Seahawks made him their first-round pick to replace Walker, and there’s optimism around his pedigree after the work he did for the Fighting Irish. Even so, he’s walking into a difficult first test, with the Patriots expected to throw a mix of blitzes and aggressive looks at the Seattle offense.
Seattle’s adjustment starts with a new voice in the headset. Brian Fleury was hired away from the San Francisco 49ers during the offseason to take over for Klint Kubiak, who is now the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Fleury is expected to keep most of Kubiak’s offense in place, but there should be more motion and pre-snap movement, along with a more creative use of the tight ends. Seattle also expects to move receivers like Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Rashid Shaheed and Cooper Cupp around more to create different looks.
That setup means more will be asked of Sam Darnold, and that’s not always a comfortable place to live. Kubiak leaned on a strong running game to make things easier for the turnover-prone quarterback, and it’s tough to see Price giving Seattle what Walker provided last year right away. That tension makes tonight worth watching, while the Chiefs keep betting that Walker can drive their offense this season.
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Slayton would bring experience, but he is not the kind of option that solves every roster wrinkle, since he does not contribute on special teams and would mainly be depth. For now, the Chiefs appear more likely to keep investing in their younger receivers and see what they have there, unless injuries force a different decision and make a veteran addition harder to pass up. [Read more 🡒]
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Chiefs O-Line Just Got A Disrespect Rating Fans Will Hate
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Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith were given stronger marks, which fits with the way the league views Kansas Citys interior anchor pieces, but the head-scratching part is lower down the list. Josh Simmons, Kingsley Suamataia and Jaylon Moore were all tagged with grades that feel light given their performance or ceiling, and that is where the real debate starts for a line still trying to establish its identity. For a team built around keeping the pocket clean, those evaluations will be remembered the next time the Chiefs front is tested. [Read more 🡒]