Kenneth Walker III (running back)

For the wide receiver, see Kenneth Walker III (wide receiver).

Kenneth Walker III
refer to caption
Walker (#9) with Michigan State in 2021
No. 9 – Seattle Seahawks
Position:Running back
Personal information
Born: (2000-10-20) October 20, 2000 (age 24)
Arlington, Tennessee, U.S.
Height:5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight:211 lb (96 kg)
Career information
High school:Arlington
College:
NFL draft:2022 / round: 2 / pick: 41
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 8, 2024
Rushing yards:2,270
Rushing average:4.4
Rushing touchdowns:23
Receptions:83
Receiving yards:617
Receiving touchdowns:2
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Kenneth Walker III (born October 20, 2000) is an American professional football running back for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and Michigan State Spartans. He won the Walter Camp and Doak Walker Awards in 2021.

Early life

Walker was born on October 20, 2000, in Arlington, Tennessee.[1] He attended Arlington High School and played for their football team, where he rushed for 3,485 yards with 41 touchdowns. He committed to Wake Forest University to play college football.[2]

College career

Walker played at Wake Forest in 2019 and 2020. During those two years he rushed for 1,158 yards on 217 carries with 17 touchdowns.[3][4] After the 2020 season, Walker transferred to Michigan State University.[5][6] He became the starter his first year at Michigan State.[7][8] In his debut with the Spartans, he rushed for 264 yards and four touchdowns.[9][10] His four touchdowns doubled the Michigan State 2020 season total, and were the first for a Spartan running back since the 2019 season.[11] Walker III was awarded the Doak Walker and Walter Camp Player of the Year Award and finished 6th in the Heisman for the 2021 NCAA season.[12][13] He earned Consensus All-American honors for the 2021 season.[14] Following the season, he announced that he would forgo his senior year and declared for the 2022 NFL draft.[15]

College statistics

Season Games Rushing Receiving
GP GS Att Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
2019 13 0 90 579 6.2 4 3 17 5.7 0
2020 7 7 119 579 4.9 13 3 30 10.0 0
Michigan State Spartans
2021 12 12 263 1,636 6.2 18 13 89 6.8 1
Career 32 19 472 2,794 5.8 35 19 136 7.5 1

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split Vertical jump Broad jump
5 ft 9+1⁄4 in
(1.76 m) 		211 lb
(96 kg) 		30+3⁄8 in
(0.77 m) 		9+1⁄2 in
(0.24 m)		 4.38 s 1.49 s 2.53 s 34.0 in
(0.86 m)		 10 ft 2 in
(3.10 m)
All values from NFL Combine[16][17]

2022

Walker was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round with the 41st overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.[18]

Walker made his NFL debut in Week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers.[19] In Week 5, against the New Orleans Saints, he had a 69-yard rushing touchdown in the 32–39 loss.[20] He was named the starting running back for the Seattle Seahawks after Rashaad Penny was placed on injured reserve.[21] In Week 7, against the Los Angeles Chargers, Walker rushed for 167 yards and two touchdowns in the 37–23 victory.[22] On November 3, Walker was named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Month for October.[23] In Week 9, he rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns in a 31–21 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.[24] In Week 12, he had another game with two rushing touchdowns in the 40–34 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.[25] He closed out the regular season with three consecutive games with over 100 rushing yards. He finished his rookie season with 228 carries for 1,050 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns to go along with 27 receptions for 165 receiving yards.[26] He joined Curt Warner as the only players in franchise history to rush for at least 1,000 yards as a rookie.[27] On January 14, 2023, during the 2022–23 NFL playoffs, Walker rushed the ball 15 times for 63 yards and a touchdown, during a 41–23 Wild Card Round loss to the 49ers.[28][29] He was named to the 2022 Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie Team.[30]

2023

In Week 3, Walker totaled 156 scrimmage yards with a pair of rushing touchdowns in a 37–27 win over the Carolina Panthers, earning National Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week.[31] Walker finished the 2023 season with 219 carries for 905 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns to go with 29 receptions for 259 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in 15 games.[32]

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Legend
Bold Career High
Year Team Games Rushing Receiving Fumbles
GP GS Att Yds Y/A Lng TD Rec Yds Y/R Lng TD Fum Lost
2022 SEA 15 11 228 1,050 4.6 74T 9 27 165 6.1 33 0 0 0
2023 SEA 15 15 219 905 4.1 45 8 29 259 8.9 64T 1 1 0
Career 30 26 447 1,955 4.4 74 17 56 424 7.6 64 1 1 0

Postseason

Year Team Games Rushing Receiving Fumbles
GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost
2022 SEA 1 1 15 63 4.2 9 1 1 3 3.0 3 0 0 0
Career 1 1 15 63 4.2 9 1 1 3 3.0 3 0 0 0

References

  1. ^ Munz, Jason (August 25, 2018). "Arlington star Kenny Walker is scoring touchdowns at a breakneck pace, and more takeaways from Friday night". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  2. ^ Johns, Les (December 2, 2018). "Memphis-area RB Kenneth Walker commits to Wake Forest". DemonDeaconDigest.com. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  3. ^ "Kenneth Walker III 2019 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  4. ^ "Kenneth Walker III 2020 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  5. ^ Charboneau, Matt (January 6, 2021). "Michigan State lands running back Kenneth Walker III, transfer from Wake Forest". The Detroit News. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  6. ^ Dell, John (January 6, 2021). "Running back Kenneth Walker III, transferring from Wake Forest, announces his destination". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  7. ^ Wenzel, Matt (August 9, 2021). "Kenneth Walker III could be 'home run' threat Michigan State needs at running back". mlive. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  8. ^ Charboneau, Matt (September 4, 2021). "Kenneth Walker III runs wild as MSU tramples Northwestern in opener". The Detroit News. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  9. ^ Wenzel, Matt (September 11, 2021). "Michigan State RB Kenneth Walker III feels no pressure for encore to monster debut". mlive. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  10. ^ Atkins, Nate (September 4, 2021). "Kenneth Walker III shatters expectations for everyone but his Michigan State teammates: 'I've never had a game like this'". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  11. ^ "2020 Michigan State Spartans Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  12. ^ "Doak Walker Award Winners". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  13. ^ "Walter Camp Player of the Year Award Winners". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  14. ^ "Consensus All-America Teams (2020–2022)". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  15. ^ VanHaaren, Tom (December 16, 2021). "Spartans RB Walker to skip bowl, enter NFL draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  16. ^ "Kenneth Walker III Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  17. ^ "Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State, RB, 2022 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  18. ^ Boyle, John (April 29, 2022). "Seahawks Select Michigan State RB Kenneth Walker III With 41st Overall Pick". Seahawks.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  19. ^ "Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers – September 18th, 2022". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  20. ^ "Seattle Seahawks at New Orleans Saints – October 9th, 2022". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  21. ^ Weaver, Tim (October 15, 2022). "Seahawks place Rashaad Penny on IR, elevate one from practice squad". Seahawks Wire. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  22. ^ "Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Chargers – October 23rd, 2022". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  23. ^ Boyle, John (November 3, 2022). "Tariq Woolen & Kenneth Walker III Earn NFL Rookie of the Month Honors". Seahawks.com. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  24. ^ "Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals – November 6th, 2022". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  25. ^ "Las Vegas Raiders at Seattle Seahawks – November 27th, 2022". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  26. ^ "Kenneth Walker 2022 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  27. ^ Obee, Maliik (January 9, 2023). "Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III Etches Name In Seahawks Record Books In Season Finale". www.seahawks.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  28. ^ Patra, Kevin (January 15, 2023). "49ers defeat Seahawks, advance to NFC Divisional Round for second straight season". NFL.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  29. ^ Simmons, Myles (January 14, 2023). "Seahawks score with Kenneth Walker touchdown, trail 49ers 10–7". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  30. ^ "2022 NFL All-Rookie Team". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  31. ^ Gordon, Grant (September 27, 2023). "Dolphins RB De'Von Achane, Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III highlight Players of the Week". NFL.com.
  32. ^ "Kenneth Walker III 2023 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
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