The Pittsburgh Steelers will find themselves dealing with a number of good to great running backs during the 2025 season. Names like Breece Hall, Aaron Jones, Josh Jacobs, Jonathan Taylor, James Cook, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery jump out initially as non-division matchups.
That doesn’t include AFC North names like Derrick Henry, Chase Brown, Quinshon Judkins and Jerome Ford.
But there is one name that has the eyes of Steelers’ team captain and All-Pro Cameron Heyward.
That would be Seattle Seahawks’ running back Kenneth Walker, who comes to Acrisure Stadium in Week 2 to take on the Steelers in the home opener on the North Shore.
In the livestream reaction to the schedule release on Wednesday night on the “Not Just Football with Cam Heyward” YouTube channel, Heyward spoke highly of Walker, stating that the young running back has vision like Le’Veon Bell.
“Yeah, I like Kenneth’s…not speed, but I think the thing I love about Kenneth, he has vision like Le’Veon [Bell],” Heyward said of the Seahawks’ running back, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “There was one time I remember I was going to tackle him and he made a move where he kind of got out of place, but it was like, you gotta have some amazing vision with that dude.”
The Steelers have only faced Walker once, which came in Week 17 of the 2023 season in Seattle. That day, the Steelers had their hands full against the former Michigan State star as Walker was running all over the Steelers’ defense early in the matchup before exiting with a shoulder injury.
Though he returned to the game and was available, he didn’t play much at all, and finished with 10 carries for 53 yards and a touchdown, and added three receptions for 22 yards. In that matchup, which the Steelers ultimately won 30-23, Walker graded out at an 80.3 overall from Pro Football Focus, and generated four forced missed tackles in just 10 attempts on the ground.
He played 21 total snaps against the Steelers in 2023, and those 21 snaps were enough to make an impact on Heyward, especially Walker’s vision. That’s an area of his game that has really grown, because coming out of Michigan State the vision was a concern.
In the scouting report of Walker coming out of college, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote that Walker was “not a naturally trusting, decisive runner” and was “quick to get away from play design without a clear point of entry.”
In Seattle though, he’s been quite productive when on the field, and has shown good vision overall. The problem is, injuries have kept him off the field time and time again. Typically, he gets worn down late in the season, which is normal for a big, bruising running back like Walker.
Unfortunately for the Steelers, they’ll see him in Week 2, which could prove very challenging for a new-look run defense. It’ll be a big challenge out of the gate for the Steelers’ defense, and it’s one that Heyward is looking forward to.
Check out the full livestream of the “Not Just Football with Cam Heyward” podcast reacting to the schedule release.
