The Seattle Seahawks got some unfortunate injury news ahead of their Conference Championship matchup with the Los Angeles Rams. Head coach Mike Macdonald told reporters today that running back Zach Charbonnet suffered a torn ACL in Saturday night’s victory, which puts an end to his season. Seattle will have to continue their Super Bowl chase without Charbonnet.
Impact of Zach Charbonnet’s Injury on Kenneth Walker III
Charbonnet had tallied five rush attempts for 20 yards in the victory over the 49ers before sustaining the injury. Across the regular season, the 25-year-old tallied 184 rush attempts for 730 yards and 12 touchdowns, while adding 144 receiving yards.
His absence from the offense will put a heavier strain on Kenneth Walker III for the remainder of this postseason run. While Charbonnet became a staple in Seattle’s attack, Walker III is more than capable in his own right. He tallied 221 rush attempts for 1,027 rushing yards, 282 receiving yards, and five touchdowns. Walker III is the more dynamic back in the Seahawks’ attack, while Charbonnet made his impact felt in short yardage and around the end zone.
Heading into the Conference Championship matchup with the Rams, expect Walker III to see an even larger role in the offense. The Michigan State product holds a price point of $6,200 in DraftKings featured DFS Millionaire contest. While this is already the secon-highest-priced player at the running back position, Walker III should still be viewed as a value play.
Across the regular season, Walker III averaged 11.6 fantasy points per game on DraftKings scoring, which ranked 28th among running backs. However, this came while Charbonnet added 11.5 fantasy points per game as well, which ranked 30th. Walker III tallied 19 carries for 116 yards and three touchdowns in the blowout victory over the 49ers, which was good for 38.5 fantasy points on DraftKings scoring.
It is not quite realistic to expect quite this level of production again, but this was an incredibly positive sign that Walker III is more than capable of taking on the goal-line work load. The Seahawks will face off with the Rams this week, who have a high powered offense that Seattle will look to keep in check. Expect the gameplan to involve leaning on their rushing attack to control the clock, especially as Sam Darnold battles through his oblique injury.
Los Angeles ranked 12th in rushing yards allowed and 19th in net yards per rush attempt conceded across the regular season. They allowed 83 rushing yards and three rushing scores in their opening playoff matchup against the Panthers, and 160 rushing yards against the Bears this week.
This is a tough break for Seattle, but count on Kenneth Walker III to be more than capable of picking up the slack and for this to show in his DFS output. Look at the $6,200 price point as some notable value and expect there to be a path toward Walker III finishing the weekend as the top-performing running back.
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