If nothing else the Seahawks run game should be on point this year. Seattle sat starting running back Rashaad Penny all three games and only got about a quarter out of rookie Ken Walker but they still had arguably the league’s most effective rushing attack in August.
Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas both deserve credit for their preseason work, as should what looks to be a much-improved run blocking offensive line. That said, we won’t know just how high-quality this run game can be until both Penny and Walker are 100%. On that point, there’s some good news to report.
According to Aaron Wilson at Pro Football Network, Walker has made a quick recovery from his hernia surgery and might be ready to play Week 1 or possibly Week 2.
“He had the surgery after the first preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now, Walker has returned to practice, and there’s a shot that he’s ready for the first game of the year. It sounds more likely that he’ll be ready for the second game, but he hasn’t been ruled out yet. A league source emphasized that Walker is extremely tough and has made a speedy recovery from the hernia.”
Walker went to the Seahawks in the second round of the draft. The team caught a lot of flak for taking a running back so early (again). However, a lot of analysts believed Walker was the best back in this class. No. 36 overall pick Breece Hall of the Jets was the other top contender and it will be interesting to see which has a better rookie year.
Several obstacles remain between Walker and a productive 2022 season. After he makes a full recovery Walker will be competing with No. 20 for snaps and Penny finished 2021 as the most-explosive rusher in the NFL by a mile.
