With Seattle rookie Ken Walker, there are a couple of primary obstacles to him being a standout fantasy back. One is Rashaad Penny, who will presumably open as the starter. The other is the question as to whether an eventual move into the lineup means he'll get opportunities in the passing game.
Walker didn't get used in the passing game at Michigan State, and Pete Carroll said something along the lines of him needing a lot of work in that regard at minicamp. But it's too soon to say he's incapable of contributing as a receiver, rather than simply not being involved that way through no fault of his own. We've debated it here, and will probably continue to do so until we see something in the preseason or regular season to offer more evidence. (The picture accompanying this story shows Walker catching a pass at training camp a few days ago.)
While the first running back drafted in April, Breece Hall, caught 36 passes for 302 yards and 3 TDs last year, and 82 balls in three college seasons, Walker wasn't a factor in college. He caught only 13 passes last year, and 19 total in three seasons. If he can catch or pass protect, we haven't seen that much of it.
I decided to take a look at all the other productive college runners (using 1,300 rushing yards as the threshold) from the last 10 years who weren't used in the passing game in college. Have any of those guys emerged as quality receivers in the NFL? The answer is yes.
Table below shows all 1,300-yard college rushers from the last decade who caught 15 or fewer passes in those seasons. (There were a few quarterbacks who showed up in the table initially and I believe I deleted most of them; apologies if any snuck in.) Search tools at college-football-reference.com were used in compiling this table.
Several players show up who haven't been good or haven't been used much in the passing game in the NFL. Ronald Jones, Derrick Henry, Nick Chubb, Jordan Howard, Matt Breida, Benny Snell.
But there are plenty of players who didn't catch many passes in those big rushing seasons in college but have done just fine in the passing game in the NFL. Jonathan Taylor shows up on the list twice, and he's caught 76 passes his first two seasons. Melvin Gordon has a pair of 50-catch seasons. Kareem Hunt stepped right into the league with a 53-catch season in Kansas City, and Devin Singletary has been fine catching passes in Buffalo. Travis Etienne shows up on the list, and everyone's expecting him to make a big impact as a receiver in Jacksonville this year.
Bottom line, I don't know if Walker will get those opportunities in Seattle, even if and when he moves past Penny. DeeJay Dallas or Travis Homer might come on the field in those situations. But the fact that he hasn't been used that way doesn't mean he can't do it. Often it's just the offense they're in.
COLLEGE RBS, 1300 RUSHING YARDS, <15 RECEPTIONS, 2012-2021 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Year | School | Att | Yds | TD | Rec | Yds |
Samaje Perine | 2014 | Oklahoma | 263 | 1713 | 21 | 15 | 108 |
Tyler Gaffney | 2013 | Stanford | 330 | 1709 | 21 | 15 | 86 |
LeVante Bellamy | 2019 | Western Michigan | 266 | 1472 | 23 | 15 | 55 |
Rawleigh Williams | 2016 | Arkansas | 245 | 1360 | 12 | 15 | 220 |
Samaje Perine | 2015 | Oklahoma | 226 | 1349 | 16 | 15 | 107 |
George Winn | 2012 | Cincinnati | 243 | 1334 | 13 | 15 | 128 |
Jarvion Franklin | 2014 | Western Michigan | 306 | 1551 | 24 | 14 | 163 |
Ronald Jones | 2017 | Southern California | 261 | 1550 | 19 | 14 | 187 |
Royce Freeman | 2017 | Oregon | 244 | 1475 | 16 | 14 | 164 |
Brenden Knox | 2019 | Marshall | 270 | 1387 | 11 | 14 | 129 |
Mike Warren | 2015 | Iowa State | 227 | 1339 | 5 | 14 | 70 |
Jaret Patterson | 2019 | Buffalo | 312 | 1799 | 19 | 13 | 209 |
AJ Dillon | 2019 | Boston College | 318 | 1685 | 14 | 13 | 195 |
Kenneth Walker | 2021 | Michigan State | 263 | 1636 | 18 | 13 | 89 |
Cameron Artis-Payne | 2014 | Auburn | 303 | 1608 | 13 | 13 | 147 |
Abram Smith | 2021 | Baylor | 257 | 1601 | 12 | 13 | 75 |
Alex Collins | 2015 | Arkansas | 271 | 1577 | 20 | 13 | 95 |
Elijah Hood | 2015 | North Carolina | 218 | 1463 | 17 | 13 | 71 |
Josh Adams | 2017 | Notre Dame | 206 | 1430 | 9 | 13 | 101 |
Christopher Rodriguez | 2021 | Kentucky | 225 | 1378 | 10 | 13 | 61 |
Tre Mason | 2013 | Auburn | 317 | 1816 | 23 | 12 | 163 |
Travis Etienne | 2018 | Clemson | 204 | 1658 | 24 | 12 | 78 |
Corey Clement | 2016 | Wisconsin | 314 | 1375 | 15 | 12 | 132 |
Nick Wilson | 2014 | Arizona | 236 | 1375 | 16 | 12 | 90 |
Derrick Henry | 2015 | Alabama | 395 | 2219 | 28 | 11 | 91 |
Jeremy Langford | 2014 | Michigan State | 276 | 1522 | 22 | 11 | 62 |
Montee Ball | 2012 | Wisconsin | 356 | 1830 | 22 | 10 | 72 |
Kasey Carrier | 2012 | New Mexico | 255 | 1469 | 15 | 10 | 75 |
Jahwan Edwards | 2012 | Ball State | 232 | 1410 | 14 | 10 | 51 |
Benny Snell | 2017 | Kentucky | 262 | 1333 | 19 | 10 | 72 |
Kareem Hunt | 2014 | Toledo | 205 | 1631 | 16 | 9 | 39 |
Jordan Howard | 2014 | Alabama-Birmingham | 306 | 1587 | 13 | 9 | 72 |
D'Angelo Brewer | 2017 | Tulsa | 288 | 1517 | 9 | 9 | 88 |
Adam Muema | 2012 | San Diego State | 237 | 1458 | 16 | 9 | 147 |
Joe Williams | 2016 | Utah | 210 | 1407 | 10 | 9 | 107 |
Derrius Guice | 2016 | Louisiana State | 183 | 1387 | 15 | 9 | 106 |
Shock Linwood | 2015 | Baylor | 196 | 1329 | 10 | 9 | 71 |
Jonathan Taylor | 2018 | Wisconsin | 307 | 2194 | 16 | 8 | 60 |
Jonathan Taylor | 2017 | Wisconsin | 299 | 1977 | 13 | 8 | 95 |
Brian Hill | 2016 | Wyoming | 349 | 1860 | 22 | 8 | 67 |
Kapri Bibbs | 2013 | Colorado State | 281 | 1741 | 31 | 8 | 59 |
Matt Breida | 2014 | Georgia Southern | 171 | 1485 | 17 | 8 | 97 |
B.J. Baylor | 2021 | Oregon State | 227 | 1337 | 13 | 8 | 75 |
Lexington Thomas | 2017 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 211 | 1336 | 17 | 8 | 143 |
D'Onta Foreman | 2016 | Texas | 323 | 2028 | 15 | 7 | 75 |
Jamaal Williams | 2016 | Brigham Young | 234 | 1375 | 12 | 7 | 80 |
James Butler | 2015 | Nevada | 208 | 1345 | 10 | 7 | 44 |
Nico Evans | 2018 | Wyoming | 204 | 1325 | 8 | 7 | 66 |
Bryce Love | 2017 | Stanford | 263 | 2118 | 19 | 6 | 33 |
Devon Johnson | 2014 | Marshall | 206 | 1767 | 17 | 6 | 121 |
Devin Singletary | 2018 | Florida Atlantic | 261 | 1348 | 22 | 6 | 36 |
Myles Gaskin | 2015 | Washington | 227 | 1302 | 14 | 6 | 19 |
James Conner | 2014 | Pittsburgh | 298 | 1765 | 26 | 5 | 70 |
D'Angelo Brewer | 2016 | Tulsa | 264 | 1435 | 7 | 5 | 19 |
Jalin Moore | 2016 | Appalachian State | 237 | 1402 | 10 | 5 | 32 |
Javian Hawkins | 2019 | Louisville | 264 | 1525 | 9 | 4 | 58 |
Nick Chubb | 2017 | Georgia | 223 | 1345 | 15 | 4 | 30 |
Spencer Brown | 2017 | Alabama-Birmingham | 250 | 1329 | 10 | 4 | 42 |
James Flanders | 2016 | Tulsa | 258 | 1629 | 18 | 3 | 17 |
Matt Breida | 2015 | Georgia Southern | 203 | 1609 | 17 | 3 | 6 |
DeWayne McBride | 2021 | Alabama-Birmingham | 204 | 1371 | 13 | 3 | 19 |
Melvin Gordon | 2013 | Wisconsin | 206 | 1609 | 12 | 1 | 10 |
Keenan Reynolds | 2015 | Navy | 265 | 1373 | 24 | 1 | 47 |
James Gilbert | 2016 | Ball State | 251 | 1332 | 12 | 1 | 18 |
Andre Williams | 2013 | Boston College | 355 | 2177 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
Malcolm Perry | 2019 | Navy | 295 | 2017 | 21 | 0 | 0 |
Ahmad Bradshaw | 2017 | Army | 242 | 1746 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
AJ Dillon | 2017 | Boston College | 300 | 1589 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
Brad Roberts | 2021 | Air Force | 299 | 1356 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
Keenan Reynolds | 2013 | Navy | 300 | 1346 | 31 | 0 | 0 |
--Andy Richardson