The Seattle Seahawks are set to host the New York Giants tomorrow afternoon at Lumen Field. It'll be their fifth game of the 2024 NFL season so far, but only their third with starting running back Kenneth Walker III in the lineup. Walker missed Weeks 2-3 with an oblique injury but when he's been on the field this year he's been nothing less than electrifying. What makes Walker special is his ability to break tackles and simply make dudes miss, which is unrivaled by all but a handful of elite running backs around the NFL.
If Walker is on your fantasy football team, then we've got good news. Walker's skillset combined with a significant weakness on the part of the Giants' defense could mean that he's in for a massive line in tomorrow's game.
Giants vs. Seahawks preview Week 5
Here's everything you need to know when the New York Giants play the Seattle Seahawks Week 5 of the 2024 NFL season.
Why Kenneth Walker III could torch Giants
According to Pro Football Focus, Walker is among the league leaders in yards after contact per carry. Meanwhile, the Giants have allowed the second-most rushing yards after contact in the NFL this season.
There was a similar dynamic we were tracking for Walker going into the season opener against the Denver Broncos and it paid off. Despite facing some extremely tough sledding in the first half, Walker exploded in the third quarter and finished with over 100 rushing yards and a touchdown despite barely playing in the fourth.
The same sort of thing happened last week against a very tough Detroit Lions defense. After getting limited to less than 10 rushing yards in the first half, Walker again went off in the third quarter and finished the game with 80 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Backup Zach Charbonnet also had a breakout fourth quarter against the Miami Dolphin s, so it's not just Walker that's blowing defenses away after the break.
Kenneth Walker III hasn't even hit his ceiling yet
If you average it out, Walker is putting up over 90 rushing yards, two touchdowns and three catches per game this year, all while only really producing in two or three of the roughly seven quarters that he's been on the field so far.
The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown over the Giants this week, which means most likely they'll be playing with a lead for most of the game. That should in theory equate to more carries for Walker and Charbonnet. If offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb can finally get the run game going before halftime Walker might even be in line for an absurd line not unlike Derrick Henry last week, somewhere in the range of 200 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
