There’s little doubt that Kenneth Walker III is one of the biggest keys to the Seattle Seahawks’ success. The 25-year-old running back put that on full display during a dominant postseason run that culminated in Walker walking away with Super Bowl LX MVP honors. The fourth-year running back ran for 135 rushing yards, posting the most rushing yards since Denver Broncos great Terrell Davis did so in Super Bowl XXXII 28 years prior. It was his finest display of the season, posting his most rushing yards in any single game this year.
What makes it even more impressive is that Walker was able to dominate on the ground despite fellow running back Zach Charbonnet tearing his ACL in the first round of the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Seahawks great Matt Hasselbeck knows a thing or two about playing with great running backs. The former Pro Bowl quarterback not only led the Seahawks to the Super Bowl, but he also did so with former MVP Shaun Alexander. Hasselbeck teamed with Alexander when the latter ran for 1,880 yards and 27 touchdowns, along with a record 28 total touchdowns.
With Walker being a free agent this offseason, the Seahawks’ biggest priority is re-signing their young star running back. Hasselbeck detailed how key the Seahawks’ one-two punch is at running back.
“He’s going to be a free agent, but I think quite honestly, I think John Schneider and Mike Macdonald did a great job this year of sticking to their plan and their process of load management with him,” said Hasselbeck in a one-on-one interview. “He shared the load for a good part of the year with Zach Charbonnet. Zach Charbonnet had double-digit touchdown, fantasy owners were freaking out. Twitter was going nuts — what are we doing? But that’s the whole thing. You gotta trust these coaches to know what their plan is. Their plan was for Kenneth Walker to be at his best — not in November or December, but in February in Santa Clara.
The Seahawks had one of the best one-two punches in the NFL with Walker rushing for 1,027 yards and five touchdowns. However, it was Charbonnet who led the team with 12 rushing touchdowns to go along with 730 rushing yards.
That superb rushing attack helped lift the Seahawks to a ranking of third in the NFL in offense.
“Zach Charbonnet, unfortunately, got hurt with the ACL injury,” Hasselbeck said. “But I would just say that Kenneth Walker looked his best at the end of the year when a running back shouldn’t be feeling his best. But they stuck to the plan with load management and training camp load management in-game and throughout the season. That one-two punch I do believe is important. You got to stick to your guns and have the conviction and the results is kind of just stick to your process and stick to your plan.
Hasselbeck gave major credit to the Seahawks organization for sticking to their guns. John Schneider, the general manager of the franchise, has led Seattle since Hasselbeck’s final season with the team in 2010.
“A lot of organizations, they’re wishy washy, and they get swayed by public opinion and talk radio and all that kind of junk,” Hasselbeck said. “The Seahawks, they’re confident in their ability. They love their plan. And I think it’s a huge reason that K-9 plays so well late in the year. They had a plan for him, and it worked.”
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