Prospect Bio

Kenneth Walker was highly productive at Arlington High School in Tennessee. Over his career, he amassed 3,485 rushing yards and 41 touchdowns 493 carries. He was also heavily involved as a pass-catcher with 64 receptions for 1,058 yards and 15 touchdowns. According to 247 Sports, Walker was ranked as the 143rd running back in his recruiting class and was a three-star prospect. The offers weren’t exactly pouring in and he committed to Wake Forest in December 2018. He began as a backup to Cade Carney in his freshman season. Still, he managed 579 yards and four touchdowns on 99 carries and was third in rushing yards among freshmen in the ACC. He was unable to secure the RB1 job in 2020 but the volume of the Wake Forest running game allowed him to rack up 119 carries in seven games. He took those for 579 yards and 13 scores. 

Itching to get an opportunity to lead a backfield, Walker transferred to Michigan State in 2021. Finally with a chance to be the guy, Walker took 264 carries for 1,646 yards and 18 touchdowns. He added another 89 yards and a score on 13 receptions. His breakout was enough to win the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best running back and the Walter Camp Award for the most outstanding overall player. He also finished sixth in the Heisman voting and was first-team all-Big Ten and the Big Ten running back of the year.

College Stats

Kenneth Walker College Stats Courtesy of sports-reference

Positives

+Size

+Home-run speed; 4.38 40-time; 114.7 Speed Score (96th-percentile, per PlayerProfiler.com)

+Explosive

+No.1 in Yards after contact and No.6 in YAC/attempt in 2021 (PFF)

+No.1 in missed tackles forced (PFF)

+No.1 in runs of 15+ yards in 2021 (PFF)

+Wins with power, speed, and elusiveness

+Proven he can handle a heavy workload

+2.13 yards per team play in 2021

+38% touchdown share in 2021

Negatives

-Lacks fluidity

-Poor in pass protection

-Unproven as a receiver 

-19 career receptions 

-5.4% target share (32nd-percentile, PlayerProfiler)

-5.4% reception share

-Limited route tree

Highlight Reel

Comparable Player: J.K. Dobbins

NFL Draft Projection: Second Round

Yards Per-Formance Grade: 77.4

Bottom Line:

Kenneth Walker may be the best pure runner in the 2022 class. He is versatile in his running style and wins with an impressive combination of power, speed, and elusiveness. His early career outlook is as a two-down workhorse. With some development as a pass-catcher, he could evolve into a true three-down bellcow. While his involvement in that area during his college career is certainly underwhelming and, frankly, a red flag, not all hope is lost that he can be more productive as a receiver in the NFL. For one, he caught over 60 passes for more than 1,000 yards during his high school career so we know there’s some skill there. We’ve seen guys like Melvin Gordon, Jonathan Taylor, and AJ Dillon go from unproven pass-catchers at the college level to having productive receiving seasons in the NFL. If Walker follows in their footsteps, his ceiling is as high as anyone’s. Walker’s size-adjusted speed and incredible tackle-eluding ability will likely get him drafted in round two as the second running back off the board after Breece Hall. In dynasty, he should be considered a top-3 pick in rookie drafts.

Post Draft Analysis:

The Seahawks made the ultimate Seahawks move by drafting Kenneth Walker at pick 41. It certainly wasn’t the best decision for real life football and isn’t the most appealing landing spot for fantasy either. Sure, he will fit beautifully in the Chris Carson role. But Carson remains on the roster, though his health status is uncertain. Rashaad Penny is still there as well, which will create some murky waters early on. Add to that, Walker is a two-down grinder back in a Drew Lock-led offense, and the short-term outlook is bleak. With that said, Walker should emerge as the best back on the team by the end of his rookie season. He is an incredibly talented runner with elite size-adjusted athleticism. We know Seattle loves to run the ball as much as they can, so once he takes over the backfield, and they solve the quarterback situation, Walker will be one of the top workhorse backs in fantasy football. The only problem is, how long do we have to wait for that to happen? Walker’s ceiling is dependent on it.

Resources: DLF, PlayerProfiler, PFN, PFF, TDN

Yards Per-Formance Prospect Grade