There’s little dispute about who the Seattle Seahawks’ top two running backs are heading into the 2025 season. Even after the worst year of his short career, Kenneth Walker III remains the top dog. Zach Charbonnet, who filled in nicely when Walker was injured in the second half of last season, is his primary backup.
After that, nothing is certain.
Seattle currently has six running backs on its roster. In addition to Walker and Charbonnet, the Hawks’ running back room includes third-year player Kenny McIntosh, last year's UDFA revelation George Holani, and two rookies – seventh-round draft pick Damien Martinez and UDFA Jacardia Wright.
Who will be the Seahawks' third running back in 2025?
If you look at the entire slate of players on paper, you will not find much to distinguish any of them, apart from Walker. If you leave the projected starter out of the mix, every Seahawks running back fits the same physical profile.
They all stand between 5’11” and 6’1” and weigh between 204 and 218 pounds. And again, except Walker, none are breakaway threats. Walker’s 4.38 speed places him in elite company. None of his fellow backs goes under 4.5.
Last year, Seattle kept three running backs on its final roster – Walker, Charbonnet, and McIntosh – while Holani spent most of the year on the practice squad. I expect they will again keep three backs, although new OC Klint Kubiak’s scheme will require them to hold onto a bigger blocking fullback as well.
Wright would appear to be a major longshot. He was a solid performer at FCS Missouri State, but he does not possess the speed or elusiveness to develop into a dangerous runner at the NFL level. The practice squad would seem to be his ceiling for now.
All Seahawks’ backs need to be decent receivers and runners, and Wright did show that ability in college, so that he could serve as deep depth in the event of multiple injuries.
The battle for Walker and Charbonnet's backup would seem to be a three-horse race between McIntosh, Holani, and Martinez. Each brings a different set of skills to the table.
McIntosh has not shown much out of the backfield in his few chances thus far. He has made more of a mark as a kickoff returner, his most likely path to the roster this year. Adding free agent Steven Sims and draft pick Tory Horton could make that path more difficult. Both will be competing for return jobs.
Holani was a darling of the 2024 preseason. There was a lot of speculation that he may have done enough to make the squad despite going undrafted. Holani may well be the most versatile of all Seattle’s backs. He lacks great speed, but he is a hard runner with power and balance, and has shown to be a willing blocker. Off all Seattle’s backs, Holani is probably the best special teams player.
But at this early stage, the smart money may be on Martinez. Perhaps it's an oversimplification, but the rookie from Miami is simply a more productive runner than the others in contention for the job.
Martinez is a power back. At 6’0” and 217 pounds, he has excellent contact balance. He was like clockwork in three college seasons – his first two were spent at Oregon State. 1,000 yards-per-year, better than six yards-per-carry every year, and 26 touchdowns. Just as significantly, in 176 touches in 2024, zero fumbles.
Martinez gets tough yards. It is not hard to envision him giving Walker a break on early downs, keeping both of the Seahawks' top backs fresher deep into games and into the season. It is also not hard to imagine him taking on short-yardage responsibilities, lining up behind either Robbie Ouzts or Brady Russell in a power I formation.
Of course, Martinez has yet to perform against NFL defenders, so we must see how he responds this summer. He was never called on to catch many balls in college, and his ability to play special teams may ultimately determine his fate. I expect Holani to make a serious run for a roster spot this year, and McIntosh is the incumbent. So nothing will be easy.
Another factor that may prove advantageous for Martinez is Walker’s contract status. He is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in 2026. It is hard to anticipate what his market might look like after this season, but John Schneider must make plans for life after Kenneth Walker. Martinez, the best pure runner after Walker and Charbonnet, may be best suited to step into a lead role if needed.
The Chiefs got Isaiah Pacheco in the seventh round of the draft in 2022, and several other productive backs – Chase Brown, Tyler Algeier, Kyren Williams – have come on day three in recent years. Martinez could be another in that line.
