Who Should I Start? Kenneth Walker III or Kaleb Johnson

Tuesday, February 17, 4:24 AM

The Seattle Seahawks are not expected to place the franchise tag on impending free agent running back Kenneth Walker III, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Walker capitalized on a contract year and put together a very impressive 2025 campaign. For the first time in his career, he was healthy for all 17 regular-season games. He tallied 1,309 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns while splitting work with Zach Charbonnet during the regular season, and he put the rushing workload on his back after Charbonnet tore his ACL during Seattle's first playoff game. Ultimately, Walker won Super Bowl MVP and could now fetch the largest contract among this year's free agent running backs. Schefter doesn't totally rule out a return to Seattle for Walker, but he does note that the team has other plans for its spending, including a Jaxon Smith-Njigba extension and re-signing other free agents.

Friday, February 13, 7:42 AM

A third-round selection out of the University of Iowa in the 2025 NFL Draft, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson appeared to have an opportunity to play a significant role in his team's backfield as a rookie. Instead, the 22-year-old spent the 2025 season buried on the Steelers' depth chart and barely got a chance to take the field. Across 10 games played, Johnson recorded just 78 yards from scrimmage on 29 touches. Veteran Pittsburgh running backs Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell dominated the team's backfield work throughout the year, as each back topped 180 touches and 1,000 yards from scrimmage. Gainwell is set to hit unrestricted free agency this spring, which could eliminate one obstacle from Johnson's pathway to playing time. However, even if the Steelers do not bring Gainwell back, Johnson did little as a rookie to convince Pittsburgh that it should not bring in another veteran to complement Warren in 2026. Johnson is still very young, and he could work his way back into the team's plans with a full offseason of development. However, his fantasy stock in dynasty formats has taken a major hit after his underwhelming rookie campaign.