COLUMN: Is Kenneth Walker ready to step up?
MIKE MAYNARD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 months, 2 weeks AGO
Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football divisional playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
AP
This Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks face their toughest test in the playoffs when they host the Los Angeles Rams. One of the major storylines heading into this matchup is running back Zach Charbonnet being ruled out, leaving Kenneth Walker to carry the load.
Which raises the question, is he capable?
In the modern world of the NFL, a lot of coaches preach the imperativeness of the run game. When effective, it can open up other strategies on offense, like play action. Passing lanes open up as defenses have to show respect to the threat in the backfield.
I like Walker’s potential as a top running back for Seattle this weekend. In the regular season, he averaged over four yards per carry for 1,000 yards and five touchdowns. In one playoff game, he took his play to another level.
Against the San Francisco 49ers, Walker averaged six yards per carry for 116 yards for three touchdowns. Walker is undoubtedly ready for the moment.
I firmly believe the Rams are the Seahawks’ toughest matchup out of all eligible NFC playoff teams this year. All three phases of the team need to be hitting on all cylinders this weekend. Against the Niners, Walker showed fans and pundits alike the Heisman contender we loved to watch when he was torching the Wolverines at Michigan State.
The Rams have a tough interior line that is capable of stopping the run. Poona Ford, Jared Verse, Ty Hamilton and Byron Young form a near impenetrable wall in the trenches.
Head Coach Mike McDonald and the Seahawks should be daring from the start of the game. When this team sets the tone early, they dominate. Send a message early with Walker and let the Rams defense know they aren’t pulling their punches no matter who they put on the field.
If they can dissect the Rams with Walker, it’s going to make the defensive backs’ life much harder. They will lack help, needing to respect the run, with Sam Darnold and Jaxson Smith-Njigba capable of taking advantage.
Having seen the outcome of the last time these two teams met, if Smith-Njigba is not an option, Cooper Kupp, Rashid Shaheed and AJ Barner are ready to rise to the occasion. Walker also averaged nine yards per carry for 100 yards in their overtime win over the Rams.
Whether or not it’s a hot take, the Seahawks success starts with Walker and the run game.
ARTICLES BY MIKE MAYNARD
Correia reflects on making All-State team
COULEE CITY — Multiple basin athletes qualified to play in the All-State Baseball Series from June 27-28 in Yakima, with Almira/Coulee-Hartline graduate, Caden Correia being one of them. Correia said he was initially selected for a feeder game ahead of his state qualification. “I was at practice one day, and my head coach (Hunter Lee) came up to me and he’s like, ‘Hey, you got selected for an All State feeder game,’” said Correia. “I actually got invited to two, the Central Washington one and the Spokane one.” Correia said he decided to go with the Spokane feeder game since it was taking place at Avista Stadium and he had a desire to compete at that venue. Once he played there, Correia was informed that he was also selected to play for Team Baker in the All State games, an opportunity that he couldn’t pass up.
Quincy standout ‘Duckie’ Workinger returns home to lead Vikings womens wrestling
MOSES LAKE — Shannon “Duckie” Workinger was named the new head coach of women’s wrestling at Big Bend Community College on June 18, bringing one of the Basin’s own back to help build the next generation of women’s wrestlers. “I'm super excited,” Workinger said. “I spent some time wrestling at different places, and it feels really good to be able to come back to the community that I was born in and really establish more connections here and build on the ones that I already have, and just help grow our Basin into a great wrestling (community), even better than it already is, because we have some good wrestlers that come from here.”
ACH wrestlers earn All-American honors at women’s national duals
COULEE CITY — Karis Butler and Kyanna Garza from Almira/Coulee-Hartline earned All-American status after a strong showing in the 2026 Women’s National Duals in Westfield, Indiana that ran from June 16-20. “It feels really good,” Karis said. “It was very surprising last year when I got on here, and then this year they were like, ‘You can go to whatever weight class you want,’ and it made me feel very recognized for the hard work I've put in.” Wrestlers competed in freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman throughout the four-day tournament. Karis competed in both earning a 7-1 record in freestyle and 4-3 in Greco-Roman. Throughout her path in the tournament, she noted a lot of growth as a wrestler came out of it.