The Seattle Seahawks have the 10th best offense in the NFL. The team with Sam Darnold under center, the passing offense is ranked fourth. However, the rushing offense is the ninth-worst and they do have prolific running backs. Hence, it’s very weird to listen to the team’s offensive coordinator talk about the approach on the team’s running game.
OC Klint Kubiak said, “That’s something that we want to keep giving him [Kenneth Walker III] more opportunities. He’s doing a heck of a job but I don’t want to discount Zach and I don’t want to discount [RB3 George Holani].” So… he is not only not clarifying how he will solve the issue, but he is also creating confusion on the RB depth chart.
As for now, Zach Charbonnet is out-snapping Walker, even though Walker is producing way more. Walker has always been the starter over Charbonnet but now it seems the roles reversed without a reasonable explanation by the coordinator.
Walker is incredibly proficient
Right now, Walker is way more efficient than Charbonnet. He has 364 rushing yards and three touchdowns averaging 4.7 yards per attempt that ranks him 17th in the NFL. He should be the one alongside Sam Darnold in the backfield most of the time.
Kenneth Walker III, Seahawks’ RB.
On the other side, Charbonnet has 156 rushing yards and only 2.6 yards per attempt, which put him 44th in the league. By all metrics, Walker should be thriving on the Seahawks, but Kubiak is not letting him flourish.
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Kubiak has had collapses before
Just last year, Kubiak was the Saints’ offensive coordinator and his first two games were incredible. The Saints scored 40+ points in both games and everyone was raving about him. Then, the team ended in the bottom half in yards and points scored.
Kubiak’s had great mentorship in the NFL. He comes from a long tree of coaches, but the one who made the biggest impact was Kyle Shanahan. After working for Shanahan, he has received offensive coordinator jobs instead of assistants or lesser roles. Hence, it’s baffling that his big issue now is the run game, where Shanahan excels.
