WATCH: Seahawks reveal hilarious draft day mishap with Kenneth Walker
Former Michigan State Spartans star running back Kenneth Walker III heard his name called in the 2022 NFL Draft, as he was selected with the ninth pick in the second round by the Seattle Seahawks. But it didn’t come before a little bit of panic in the draft room.
As multiple people in the Seahawks draft room tried to reach Walker prior to selecting him, his phone continued to go straight to voicemail. The draft clock begun ticking down, and at least a little bit of panic filled the room. After considering just taking him blind if they couldn’t get ahold of him before announcing the pick, Walker eventually answered the Seahawks calls.
Walker began his collegiate career at Wake Forest. There, he rushed for 579 yards and four touchdowns as a freshman in 2019 and 579 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2020 as a sophomore. Ahead of his junior year, Walker entered the transfer portal and ended up at Michigan State. With the Spartans, Walker became one of the best offensive players in the nation, rushing for 1,636 yards and 18 touchdowns, averaging 6.2 yards per carry.
Walker could make an early impact in the Seahawks offense
Ahead of the NFL Draft, NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein broke down Walker’s game as a prospect. He sees Walker as a very capable running back who should have success in the league as a starter.
“Walker is a compact back with a very powerful, sturdy base,” Zierlein said. “He can find his own yards with twitchy directional change when run-blocking breaks down and possesses plus-rated contact balance to add on to his yardage throughout the game. Walker is a very determined runner who is more reactive than instinctive, which leads to wild shifts in his rush track.
“He can handle RB1 workload in terms of carries but needs work as a third-down option. Walker would benefit from better rush-track discipline, but his explosiveness and unpredictable style should still lead to success as a future starter.”
Walker joins Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny, DeeJay Dallas, Travis Homer and others in the Seahawks running back room. As Seattle transitions into the post-Russell Wilson era, the running game could become even more of a focal point this season, boding well for Walker’s goal of winning Rookie of the Year.