The Seattle Seahawks opted not to franchise tag their top running back last season and ended up losing him to free agency. Kenneth Walker III was named Super Bowl MVP in February and shortly after joined the Kansas City Chiefs, leaving the defending champs with big shoes to fill. They have yet to fill those shoes effectively.
Running back Zach Charbonnet is still recovering from a torn ACL he sustained last season, and rookie first-round pick Jadarian Price is on IR with a chest injury. Injuries aside, the Seahawks don't have the level of talent they did in Walker last season. But one name floating around the trade deadline conversation could fix Seattle's run game woes.
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley could find a new home, and the Seahawks are certainly a team that makes sense. Let's take a look at the case for and against trading for Barkley. The Seahawks aren't playing as well as they hoped after their Super Bowl win in 2025.
The team was sitting at .500 heading into Week 7, and a victory over the Chiefs on "Sunday Night Football" put some spark in their struggling offense. What would give them even more of a spark is a stronger run game. After trading away Walker, their ground game is a shell of what it was.
Quarterback Sam Darnold has struggled with interceptions, tied for second-most in the league (7) through Week 6. Without a strong run game, quarterbacks can be forced to throw the ball, feeling they have limited options, and that pressure can lead to poor decision-making. If Darnold has a strong running back, the entire offense would feel the impact, and defenses would be forced to game-plan for a player who can make something into nothing on the ground.
We have seen what value the combination of wide receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba and Walker did last season, which got them all the way to a Lombardi Trophy. Adding Barkley could greatly increase the team's playoff chances. Adding Barkley solves two problems with one player.
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