Shawn Siegele said Zach Charbonnet is one of the most difficult names to leave off his Zero-RB countdown because the sophomore back instantly becomes a potential league-winner if Kenneth Walker goes down. Walker is a "superstar" who should dominate touches in Seattle, but that dominance also means Charbonnet would inherit a full bell-cow workload in a run-centric offense should an injury strike. Siegele added that taking Charbonnet gives drafters the flexibility to load up on Walker elsewhere, knowing they are balanced with his direct contingency option. In FFPC best-ball formats, he views Charbonnet’s Round-10 price as a cheap pathway to 20-touch upside and late-season tournament leverage.

Rich Hribar advised that Kenneth Walker is the rare back worth handcuffing, making Zach Charbonnet a priority add even at his elevated ADP. Hribar expects Walker to miss “four games, if not more” based on the running back’s annual run of groin, hamstring, and ankle issues. By pairing the two, drafters preserve Walker’s upside in Clint Kubiak’s outside-zone scheme— which Hribar believes will inflate yards before contact— while protecting against the very real probability of another multi-week absence. In both best-ball and season-long leagues, Hribar views Charbonnet as inexpensive insurance that locks up the full Seahawks backfield in a system he projects to produce fantasy-relevant numbers for whoever is on the field.

Davis Mattek called Zach Charbonnet a "gift" when he slid into the 130s, explaining why he still smashes the button even though Charbonnet is technically an RB2. Mattek reminded listeners that Seattle quietly used the rookie in a 60/40 split last season and handed him full bell-cow work— snap shares of 96%, 84%, 80%, 79%, 78%—whenever Kenneth Walker was nicked up. The Seahawks also trusted Charbonnet on third downs despite his merely serviceable receiving résumé at UCLA, a sign the coaching staff values his pass-protection chops. Mattek conceded that paying up for the "most expensive backup" can be dangerous, but argued Charbonnet’s locked-in takeover role if Walker misses time makes him the rare Round-11 contingent bet with true 20-touch upside and spike-week receiving paths in PPR best-ball scoring.

JSU highlighted Zach Charbonnet as one of his favorite late running-back picks. He reminded listeners that Seattle funneled 21 carries inside the five to running backs after Week 10, and Charbonnet claimed half of them despite Kenneth Walker staying healthy. If Walker misses time, JSU projects Charbonnet to push 20 touches per game in an offense that was sixth in early-down run rate under Ryan Grubb at the end of 2024. Even in a healthy backfield split, Charbonnet should keep the high-value looks near the goal line, giving him weekly stand-alone flex equity with true league-winning upside if the lead back turns an ankle.

The What said Zach Charbonnet is strictly an insurance policy who "will never see the field as a starter without an injury." His logic is that Ken Walker owns every high-leverage early-down and goal-line snap and Seattle clearly views Charbonnet as a change-of-pace back. He even mentioned the Seahawks are "waiting on Damian Martinez"—a 2025 power back prospect—to handle true workhorse duties, further capping Charbonnet’s future ceiling. In best-ball terms, The What thinks burning a mid-round pick on Charbonnet is a wasted roster spot unless you’re specifically betting on a Walker injury.

Pat Kerrane locked in Zach Charbonnet as his third running back, calling it the 'boring safe play' that rounds out the room. Charbonnet offers a sprinkling of standalone touches now and, more importantly, has already proven he inherits a full workhorse role whenever Kenneth Walker misses time. Kerrane contrasted that certainty with later handcuffs whose coaches haven’t shown the same willingness to feature them. For a build that waited on RB3, Charbonnet delivers both weekly usability and genuine contingency upside without forcing drafters to chase even thinner darts later on.

Kevin Szafraniec called Zach Charbonnet one of his favorite zero-RB picks in Best Ball Mania V. He reminded Colm that Kenneth Walker has already missed five games in two seasons and routinely aggravates the coaching staff by trying to bounce runs. Kevin does not expect new OC Ryan Grubb to tolerate that forever, especially after hand-selecting Charbonnet for a more downhill scheme. Even in a healthy scenario, Kevin projected a 65/35 carry split that still gives Charbonnet 8-10 touches a week with full-series upside whenever Walker dings a hamstring. At a Round-10 price tag, Kevin believes the contingent value combined with a usable weekly floor makes Charbonnet a must-have piece for zero- and hero-RB builds.

Kevin Szafraniec called Zach Charbonnet one of his favorite Zero-RB darts in Best Ball Mania. He reminded listeners that Kenneth Walker has already missed significant time in two straight seasons and is working under a new offensive coordinator who may lose patience with Walker’s habit of bouncing runs. Charbonnet flashed workhorse usage when Walker sat last year, and Kevin believes a forced or merit-based timeshare is firmly in play. Even if Walker stays upright, Szafraniec projected Charbonnet for enough receiving and goal-line work to be usable in best-ball formats and sees league-winning upside if Walker’s durability issues crop up again.

Liz Loza urged drafters to scoop Zach Charbonnet even if they already roster Kenneth Walker. Seattle coaches call Charbonnet a "hammer," and he handled roughly one-third of last year’s goal-line snaps, giving him weekly spike-week potential. Walker has missed games in each of his two NFL seasons, so an injury would leave Charbonnet as the featured back in Clint Kubiak’s run-heavy, outside-zone attack that Seattle is building around. Loza thinks that combination of immediate touchdown equity plus league-winning contingency volume makes Charbonnet an ideal Round-10 swing in best ball formats.

Tom Strachan reminded listeners that Zach Charbonnet finished top-8 in three of four games with 15+ touches last year, exploding for 38.3 PPR points as the RB1 in Week 14. He was 12th in yards per target (7.39) and caught 91.3 % of his passes, the fourth-best rate among backs with 25+ targets. New Seahawks QB Sam Darnold peppered Aaron Jones with 59 targets last season, hinting Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker will be heavily involved through the air. With Seattle signaling a shift toward a more run-heavy approach, Strachan sees Charbonnet as having weekly flex value and true RB1 upside should Walker miss time.

Sean Koerner pegged Zach Charbonnet as the highest-upside running back available in Round 10. Charbonnet needs Kenneth Walker to miss time, but Koerner stressed how massive the payoff can be: in Walker’s four missed games last year, Charbonnet produced RB7 overall numbers in his first two starts and RB2 overall in the next two. Koerner’s annual backup-RB model gives Charbonnet one of the top "league-winner" ratings because Seattle funnels the entire backfield to one runner when healthy and Charbonnet already handles third-down work. If Walker’s physical running style again leads to missed weeks, Koerner projects Charbonnet for a locked-in 18-22 touches and top-5 weekly finishes, well worth a 10th-round best-ball pick.

Pat Fitzmaurice pegged Zach Charbonnet as a sneaky buy-low thanks to Seattle’s revamped run game under Clint Kubiak and offensive line guru Rick Denison. Drawing on the Kubiak/Denison track record of churning out anonymous 1,000-yard rushers since the late 1990s, Fitzmaurice expects the Seahawks to be far more efficient on the ground in 2025. Charbonnet is priced like Kenneth Walker’s pure backup, yet the staff’s zone-run history and commitment to a heavier run rate could push Charbonnet into standalone flex value with legitimate league-winning upside if Walker misses time. Dynasty managers can exploit the current discount before camp buzz catches up to the coaching change.

Sean Koerner ranked Zach Charbonnet as his RB30—well above the market price near RB36—and called him “one of the best backups in football.” When Kenneth Walker missed two separate two-game stretches last season, Charbonnet posted RB7 and RB2 finishes over those spans, proof of legitimate league-winning potential. Koerner dismissed worries about seventh-round rookie Damien Martinez, noting late-round backs rarely dent year-one workloads, and said chatter around a possible Walker trade only sweetens Charbonnet shares in early best-ball tournaments. Even without a trade, Koerner views Charbonnet as a must-draft lottery ticket thanks to locked-in passing-down usage and a demonstrated every-down ceiling in Shane Waldron’s balanced offense.

Davis Mattek argued that Zach Charbonnet remains a priority RB4 despite being the priciest back in his tier. Mattek highlighted 2023 usage splits showing Charbonnet still on the field for 47% of total snaps and an eye-popping 81% of long-down-and-distance situations after Kenneth Walker returned in Week 4, plus full-time starts in Weeks 14-15. With Seattle’s front office ‘open for business,’ Mattek thinks a mid-season Walker trade could catapult Charbonnet into bell-cow status. Even without a trade, he expects a near 50/50 committee under new OC Ryan Grubb, and Sam Darnold’s check-down tendencies should funnel targets Charbonnet’s way. Mattek conservatively projects about 5 half-PPR points in Week 1 but sees a realistic path to 12-14 weekly if the workload tilts his direction, making him an upside swing worth paying current ADP in Best Ball Mania drafts.