Kenneth Walker III Fantasy Outlook: Is Seahawks RB a good pick in Fantasy Football 2023?

Kenneth Walker III was along for the ride as the Seattle Seahawks surpassed all expectations amid Geno Smith's resurgent rise.

The running back earned more than 1,000 yards in his first season in the NFL, which is a great sign of things to come on paper. However, it's a bit more complicated this year.

Will the running back be a driving force for the Seahawks and fantasy football teams around the league in 2023?

Kenneth Walker III at Las Vegas Raiders v Seattle Seahawks

Kenneth Walker III's 2023 Fantasy Outlook

The element of surprise for Geno Smith is gone and teams will be doing everything in their power to counter what worked for Seattle last year.

Walker worked well for them last year, so he'll be a focus of defenses. Still, one thing about the running game is that if it's good enough, there's no real counter.

Use the fantasy football Start/Sit Optimizer to make difficult lineup decisions easier.

The Seattle Seahawks historically have had suspect offensive line play, which makes things a touch more difficult for their running back if he gets saddled with loaded boxes.

One plus working for the running back is he avoided the catastrophic first-year injury pitfall that often hits rookies in the position. Walker is healthy and ready for Week 1, and is expected to be a useful RB in fantasy football.

Is Kenneth Walker III a good pick in Fantasy Football this year?

Kenneth Walker at Las Vegas Raiders v Seattle Seahawks

The elephant in the room is Zach Charbonnet. The new running back was drafted in the second round of this year's NFL draft. Teams don't draft running backs that high just to have them sit back for long.

As such, it's shaping up to be a committee backfield, with snaps getting shared likely down the middle.

Use the fantasy football trade analyzer to get the most value out of every transaction.

Walker is listed as the starter, so he might technically have the majority of the carries, but the split figures to be quite close. It'll also likely be an ongoing battle all season long for starting honors. This means that if Walker has a sophomore slump, he could lose carries.

Where should you draft Kenneth Walker III this year?

Kenneth Walker III (L) at Seattle Seahawks v Los Angeles Chargers

Walker's upside is that last season's 1,000 yards came in 15 games. Meaning, he doesn't need to be a bell-cow to be productive in Fantasy Football. Running backs by committee are something to be avoided as much as possible when drafting players, but a 1000-yard rusher isn't something to completely steer clear of.

Drafting him in the first two rounds with the likes of Derrick Henry, Nick Chubb, and others is a bit of reach, but if he's taken in the third round, one could do a lot worse.

Kenneth Walker III serves as a strong flex position or perhaps an RB2 in most leagues. By Week 10, however, he could be even better or he could be losing carries to Charbonnett, so there's a risk factor associated with him more than other committees.