Kenneth Walker III

BIOGRAPHY

Kenneth Walker III was born in Arlington, Tennessee. He is a runningback in the NFL.

Walker attended Arlington High School in Arlington, Tennessee. During his career he rushed for 3,485 yards with 41 touchdowns. He committed to Wake Forest University to play college football. Walker played at Wake Forest in 2019 and 2020. During those two years he rushed for 1,158 yards on 217 carries with 17 touchdowns. After the 2020 season, Walker transferred to Michigan State University. He became the starter his first year at Michigan State. In his debut with the Spartans, he rushed for 264 yards and four touchdowns. His four touchdowns doubled the Michigan State 2020 season total, and were the first for a Spartan running back since the 2019 season. Walker III was awarded the Doak Walker and Walter Camp Player of the Year Award for the 2021 NCAA season. Following the season, he announced that he would forgo his senior year and declared for the 2022 NFL Draft.

In the 2022 NFL Draft, Kenneth Walker was taken #40 by the Seattle Seahawks. He made his NFL debut in Week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers. In Week 5, against the New Orleans Saints, he had a 69-yard rushing touchdown in the 32-39 loss.  He was named the starting running back for the Seattle Seahawks after Rashaad Penny was placed on injured reserve. In Week 7, against the Los Angeles Chargers, Walker rushed for 167 yards and two touchdowns in the 37–23 victory. On November 3, 2022, Walker was named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Month for October. In Week 9, he rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns in a 31–21 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. In Week 12, he had another game with two rushing touchdowns in the 40–34 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. He closed out the regular season with three consecutive games with over 100 rushing yards. He finished his rookie season with 228 carries for 1,050 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns to go along with 27 receptions for 165 receiving yards. He joined Curt Warner as the only players in franchise history to rush for at least 1,000 yards as a rookie. On January 14, 2023, during the 2022–23 NFL playoffs, Walker rushed the ball 15 times for 63 yards and a touchdown, during a 41–23 Wild Card Round loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He was named to the 2022 PFWA All-Rookie Team.