Kenneth Walker Island

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My main dynasty league is an extremely competitive league of high school friends who all care more about the belt (yes we have an actual wrestling belt) than they do about the money. I had been so close to wearing the belt myself for multiple seasons straight. In 2021, I probably could’ve made one more run but decided to blow it all up in the offseason. I was a running back heavy team leaning on Ezekiel Elliot and Christian McCaffrey with Deshaun Watson as my QB. Easy choice to me.

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Turns out I pulled the trigger at the perfect time. I used most of my return to secure Ceedee Lamb and an in draft trade to draft Jaylen Waddle. It was time to put my focus towards the 2022 1.01. It was obvious that my team had no competition for the 1st pick. The eye test has become very important to me and I wanted to take the college season to form my own opinions. Relying on pre-draft hype and combine numbers has led me to drafting N’Keal Harry and JJ Arcega-Whiteside. It’s time to make these decisions for myself!

I entered the 2021 NCAA season with one target in mind, Breece Hall. He was the obvious target as the top back in the upcoming class. I made an attempt to watch Iowa State a few times to see what this guy was all about. After all, he was going to be mine. Don’t get me wrong. I like Breece. I think he is going to be a solid back in the league. I entered every Iowa State viewing experience with a hard Breece bias and for some reason he just never jumped off the screen at me. His numbers are great but it didn’t seem to match up with the eye test for me.

Fast forward to October 30, 2021. Michigan at Michigan State. Vaunted Michigan defense storming into East Lansing hungry as ever. I slap on a bet on Michigan vs the spread. I feel great about my bet and I’m relaxing watching a great college football game on fall Saturday. Well it started great until my wager ran head first into one Kenneth Walker. It seemed like every time the guy touched the ball it ended in me being dumbfounded. He ended the game with 23 rushes for 197 yards and 5 TDs. I lost the bet. I can’t shake this game from my mind. Biggest stage of the season so far for the Spartans and this guy made one of the best defenses in the nation look stupid. Wow.

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This game made me do a dive into Walker. I quickly fell in love with his running style. In my opinion, it all translates to the NFL game. Walker’s greatest attribute is his ability to make a guy miss. He lead the nation this year with 89 missed tackles forced. This was more in a season than guys like Johnathon Taylor and Saquon Barkley. He also forced a missed tackle on a staggering 33.8 percent of his carries! Walker averaged 6.2 YPC in a conference built in the trenches with corn farmers. Breece averaged 5.8 YPC in a conference where they don’t play defense. Once again, no knocks on Breece here it just shows how truly special I think Walker is. Walker’s ability to make people miss shows in his game log where you will find that he only had two games this season averaging under 4 YPC. Breece had four. Even when the line can’t get anything going for him Walker said “screw lemonade, I’m making lemon bars!”. He also shows the power to move a defender forward for extra yards. Contact balance is a huge plus for Walker as this ability only adds to him keeping plays alive and gaining YAC. Since PFF started tracking YAC numbers, Walker is tied at the top with JT for highest YAC average for a running back with 250+ carries (4.5). Everything I love about Walker are things you can’t teach a guy.

Update: @Kenneth_Walker9 just did what Kenneth Walker III does.

No. 8 @MSU_Football is on the board vs. Michigan. pic.twitter.com/et4ucnZX9n

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 30, 2021

Here Walker runs straight into a pile (sure not his greatest choice) but he’s able to keep his legs churning, stay alive using his contact balance, bounce it out and explode for the touchdown.

THIS DUDE IS UNBELIEVABLE 😱🔥@Kenneth_walker9 scores his FOURTH touchdown of the game for @MSU_Football! pic.twitter.com/1gtjXOaQW7

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 30, 2021

All it takes is one cut here and Walker uses his speed to take care of the rest.

Kenneth Walker III has FIVE touchdowns vs #6 Michigan 🤯

RB1 on our 2022 draft board 😤pic.twitter.com/16Dvk2MKpB

— PFF (@PFF) October 30, 2021

This touch down displays great contact balance as the defender tries to take out his legs but Walker keeps himself in stride and takes it to the house.

One of his biggest knocks is his pass catching ability. He caught 19 passes in 3 seasons. I understand the concern, I do. However, I don’t think that matters anymore. Just because a guy wasn’t asked to catch 70 passes a year doesn’t mean he can’t do it at all. Case in point Leonard Fournette. Over 3 seasons of being THE GUY at LSU, Fournette only brought in 41 passes. It was never a positive trait discussed when he was talked about during draft time. Despite all of that he has turned into a player who has averaged almost 50 receptions per season in the NFL. I’ve hyped Walker’s ability to make a guy miss. Where could that possibly translate? Route running. With good coaching I have zero concern about his involvement in the passing game.

Hall blew everyone away with his testing at the combine. It was truly remarkable. It made everyone forget that Walker tested nearly identically or just behind. I’m a big fan of Relative Athletic Score(RAS). Both backs tested great in this metric. To me, the slight gap in underwear testing won’t truly show on a football field.

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If there was one true detriment to his game it’s pass blocking. His tape leaves a lot to be desired in this department. Thankfully this is fantasy football! I think he can once again improve here with good coaching and avoid losing playing time over it.

I was locked into Walker at 1.01 before the draft but I love his landing spot in Seattle. Chris Carson has a concerning neck injury and the pick makes me think they don’t think his future looks too bright. Rashaad Penny had a nice resurgence but is entering the final year of his deal. This adds up to Walker being the uncontested guy in 2023. I know I am alone on Walker island and that’s ok. I truly think he is going to be a game wrecking running back and I’m standing by that. His relentless running style, natural ability to make a defender miss, and his knack to take a game over firmly plant him as my 1.01.