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Seattle wasn't technically lying by listing Kenneth Walker as the starting RB on their season-opening depth chart. He started Sunday's game against the 49ers and handled the team's first carry. But then he quickly fell behind Zach Charbonnet in all ways. Charbonnet jumped in for the second possession and handled seven of the team's eight rushing attempts on that drive, including the 1-yard TD plunge at the end. Charbonnet led Walker 9-4 in carries at halftime, beat him 12-10 for the game, and played 30 snaps to Walker's 21 overall.
This looks like a true backfield split. Charbonnet got the early edge thanks Walker's game-opening possession lasting just three plays before a punt. Charbonnet's aforementioned drive found Seattle on the field for 10 plays.
Charbonnet led 7-2 in carries at that point in the game. Walker then led 8-5 the rest of the way. Walker also claimed the backfield's only three targets, while running nine routes to Charbonnet's 11 (according to Pro Football Focus).
Of course, it's also worth noting that Walker achieved basically nothing with his 13 touches. He averaged just 2.0 yards across his 10 rushes and managed a mere 4 yards on three receptions.
Charbonnet went 12-47-1 rushing (3.9 per carry) on a day that found the whole team averaging just 3.2 yards per rush.
This type of apparent 50-50 split is bad for the fantasy stability of both players. But it's obviously much worse for Walker, who went 4-5 rounds ahead of Charbonnet in ADP this summer.
We'll see if anything changes going forward, but Sunday's results gave Seattle no apparent reason to shift away from Charbonnet.
A Week 2 visit to Pittsburgh doesn't look friendlier than the Week 1 matchup, despite a successful Jets offensive day against the Steelers in the opener.
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