Zach Charbonnet

Charbonnet might eventually gain on Kenneth Walker in the competition for carries in the Seattle backfield, but in 2023 there was a clear division of labor in which Walker dominated the important carries while Charbonnet handled passing downs and some low-leverage carries. It wasn't enough for Charbonnet to establish fantasy value apart from the two games Walker missed, as the rookie second-round pick spent a lot of time blocking and was targeted just 30 times. As long as Charbonnet is just a passing-down player for the Seahawks, it will be difficult for him to establish mainstream fantasy value, though his college production and 214-pound frame suggest he'd at least be busy if Walker were to miss games. The UCLA standout and 2023 second-round pick produced like a starting NFL running back in college and backed it up with solid athletic testing, but the same can be said of Walker, who was also a second-round pick (in 2022). Charbonnet specifically needs to gain ground on Walker in the rushing rotation to carve out fantasy relevance that isn't entirely dependent on his backfield mate missing time.

Charbonnet looks like a carbon copy of DeMarco Murray, running in a somewhat linear fashion but offsetting it with a standout blend of burst, vision and motor. Charbonnet runs hard-headed and pulls away at the second level if the linebackers lose their pursuit angle, making the former UCLA/Michigan star a candidate to provide explosiveness and volume both, including as a pass catcher. It was frustrating for fantasy investors, then, when the Seahawks took Charbonnet in the second round of the 2023 draft. Kenneth Walker proved himself a standout runner as a rookie, repeatedly producing high-volume, high-efficiency returns, so with the two on the same team it caps the projections for both. Either would be a potential top-10 fantasy back on his own, whereas the two together healthy in the same offense makes it difficult for either to reach the top 12. It's a good setup for Seattle – they'll run all day and create favorable looks for their talented WR group – but in the meantime Charbonnet's only advantage over Walker is that the rookie is a better receiver.