The Seahawks’ 3-3 start has sparked plenty of finger-pointing, and the running game has taken a lot of the heat. But the idea that Seattle needs to fix it with a trade doesn’t hold up as cleanly as some are making it sound.
The first reaction for a lot of fans is obvious: look at Ken Walker III and wonder whether Seattle should have kept him in free agency. That’s a fair conversation in hindsight, especially with what he’s doing in Kansas City.
He looks different there - not hesitating at the line the way he sometimes did in Seattle, getting to the point of attack, making his cut, and exploding through it. Different scheme, different line, different player.
That doesn’t mean the Seahawks have to panic and go shopping for a replacement. The trade market can absolutely matter in-season.
Seattle’s own recent history proves that. Ernest Jones helped after arriving before the 2024 deadline, Leonard Williams did the same the year before, and Rashid Shaheed made an impact in the return game even if he wasn’t the receiver the Seahawks expected.
But a useful trade and a necessary trade are not the same thing.
A lot of the buzz has centered on big names, and that’s where the arguments start to fall apart. Saquon Barkley would be a tempting idea, but there are major questions hanging over any deal: what the Eagles would want back, and how healthy Barkley actually is. Those two issues alone make the path murky.
Other names being tossed around don’t look much better. Braelon Allard from the Jets is a good young player, and Tony Pollard from the Titans would be a better fit on paper - especially with Pollard in the final year of his deal, which could drag the price down to something like a fourth-round or even fifth-round pick. Still, none of that changes the fact that Seattle already has a viable answer sitting on the roster.
That answer is Zach Charbonnet.
Charbonnet is not Walker. He doesn’t have the same burst, and he’s not the breakaway threat K9 is.
But he brings plenty to the table. He’s a strong receiver, a better blocker, and a physical runner who can help in ways Seattle needs right now.
With pass protection a concern, that matters. And for all the noise around the backfield, Charbonnet has already shown he can carry the load in meaningful moments.
The numbers from last season back that up. Charbonnet ran for 12 touchdowns, while Walker had five.
Walker had the better per-carry average at 4.6 yards to Charbonnet’s 4.0, but Charbonnet was the back Seattle leaned on when it needed a first down. He converted 26 percent of his carries into first downs, compared with Walker’s 21 percent.
There’s also the matter of timing. Even if Seattle swung a deal for Barkley and he somehow arrived healthy, he would still need to get comfortable in the offense.
Maybe that only takes a week, but the Seahawks are 3-3 and the calendar is already moving. Charbonnet may be ready for Week 7, and Jadarian Price should be back in about a week as well.
Price has had ball-security problems, but he’s also been more productive than Emanuel Wilson. Price has averaged 4.3 yards per carry to Wilson’s 3.5, and he has picked up first downs on 29 percent of his attempts compared with Wilson’s 20 percent. The fumbles are a real issue, but the production is real too.
And maybe the biggest point here is that Seattle’s run game is not nearly as broken as the panic suggests. The numbers this year are better than they were over the first six games of 2025.
This season, the Seahawks have run for 643 yards through six games and are averaging 3.9 yards per carry. In those first six games last year, they had just 625 rushing yards and averaged 3.7 yards per carry.
So the question isn’t really whether the Seahawks need a rescue package at running back. It’s whether people are blaming the wrong problem.
Seattle would do better to clean up the penalties, stop handing out short fields, and avoid giving away 21 points the way it did against the Niners. Patience makes a lot more sense than a rushed trade.
In Other News...
Seahawks May Be Learning A Painful Truth About Sam Darnold
Sam Darnolds first season in Seattle has been a reminder that a quarterbacks environment can change everything. After looking far more comfortable earlier in the year, his play has slid into troubling territory, with his numbers now sitting near the bottom among qualified quarterbacks and raising fresh questions about what the Seahawks have in him moving forward.
Jason La Canfora has pointed to the kind of roster churn that can quietly reshape an offense, noting the departures of offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and running back Kenneth Walker III as possible reasons for the regression. Walker, meanwhile, is thriving with the Kansas City Chiefs, who remain undefeated, which only adds to the sting for Seattle as it tries to figure out what went wrong and whether Darnold can still steady the offense. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Run Game Issue May Be Easier To Fix Than Fans Think
The Seahawks run game has been one of the quieter concerns of the season, and the numbers help explain why. Seattle sits 18th in yards per carry and 30th in EPA per rush, a rough combination for an offense that has wanted more balance. Analyst Daniel Jeremiah pointed to the injury-depleted backfield as a major reason, noting that rookie Jadarian Price is on injured reserve and the current primary backs have not provided the same burst in explosive runs.
There may be a relatively straightforward path to improvement, though, if the roster can get healthier. The possible returns of Zach Charbonnet and Price would give Seattle more options and, in theory, more juice in a ground game that has lacked it for much of the season. For a team trying to stabilize its offense, the fix might not require a scheme overhaul so much as a healthier rotation in the backfield. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Trade Idea Hinges On Whether Eagles Would Move A Star Back
Seattles running game has not looked like the same engine it was a year ago, and the absence of Kenneth Walker has become part of that conversation. CBS Sports Carter Bahns pointed to that decision as one reason the Seahawks have had more trouble getting consistent production on the ground, then floated a bigger-name fix: Saquon Barkley. It is the kind of idea that immediately grabs attention because Barkley would give the offense a proven lead back and a very different level of stability.
There is a catch, of course, and it is a significant one. Barkley is under contract through 2028, and Philadelphia has not signaled any desire to move him, but the Eagles quarterback situation could change the conversation if Jalen Hurts injuries push them toward a broader roster rethink. For Seattle, the appeal is obvious: a shot at solving a glaring need with a star who could reshape the backfield, even if the path to getting him looks complicated from the start. [Read more 🡒]