SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Kenneth Walker III speaks softly and brandishes a juke stick.
Amid the hoopla of Super Bowl week, the Seattle Seahawks' 1,000-yard rusher has resided mostly in the background, but Walker's importance Sunday against the New England Patriots will be on full display.
Following the late-season injury to fellow running back Zach Charbonnet, Walker has carried the load, generating 100-plus scrimmage yards in three consecutive games, including playoffs. He became the first Seahawks player since Marshawn Lynch in 2014 to have consecutive playoff games with 100-plus scrimmage yards.
"Man, that's a really fun person to talk about because he's just playing his best football at this time of the year," offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak told NFL.com ahead of Super Bowl LX. "He was hurt in training camp. He couldn't practice every day. So I think it kind of got him off to a slower start. But he's a guy that, as the year has gone on, he's just got so much more detail with his assignments. And we just have so much more confidence in him. And there's so much that he can do in the pass game that we weren't really able to rep in training camp ... probably to get as comfortable as I would like to do. But now, this time of year, it's like we're just always trying to find new ways to get him the ball in the passing game as well."
In the postseason, Walker has 38 carries for 178 yards and four rushing touchdowns, tied for the most in a single postseason in Seattle history (Lynch in 2013). Walker had four total rushing TDs over the final 15 games of the 2025 regular season.
"It means a lot," Walker said of his improvement down the stretch. "Personally, I always want to get better each year. It means a lot. You learn it each year. This is another chance for me to learn more."
In his first season playing 17 regular-season games, Walker finished with 1,027 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 221 totes, matching his career high of 4.6 yards per attempt. He added 31 catches for 282 yards.
Walker describes his running style as "explosive and versatile." His ability to break ankles in a phonebooth and run through arm tackles has been evident in 2025. The 25-year-old has negated some of the negative plays that plagued him through his first three seasons. Per Next Gen Stats, his run stuff percent of 19 is a career low, and he generated a career-high 739 yards after contact.
Kubiak said he thought Walker's fit in the offense would be ideal entering the season, and noted that the team hasn't even fully deployed him as a pass catcher to the extent the OC believes it could.
"We were really excited about him. He thought he'd be a really good zone runner," he said. "And the really great backs, in my opinion, can catch. And that's what Ken can do. He's got great hands. He can run routes. He can affect the game more than just handing the ball off."
Entering the season, poised to be a free agent in 2026, there were questions about Walker's future in Seattle. The RB said he didn't approach the season as if he needed to prove anything.
"Just played the game," he said. "I feel like if you try to prove people, people are going to have something to say either way, you know what I'm saying, if you do good or bad. So I can't really prove it to nobody. I just want to do good for my family, my family and my team."
Early during Super Bowl week, coach Mike Macdonald said Walker knows the club wants him back in 2026.
"Of course, we want Ken back," the coach said Monday. "He's a phenomenal player. He's a great person. He's a great teammate. Those are the people we want in our building. Those are the people we want with the Seahawks. I'm sure Ken feels the same way. Again, those are things that we're going to have to worry about, not right now. Those are decisions we'll make in the future. But Ken knows how we feel about him. And I think we know how Ken feels about us."
Walker reciprocated the feelings.
"I've been here four years, so you know I've gotten to know a lot of stuff about Seattle, and you know a lot of the city, and I feel like they feel good about me as well," he said. "So if it was my choice, though, I'd definitely stay."
Sunday's bout against a stingy Patriots run defense poses a challenge to Walker and Kubiak.
New England has allowed 71.3 rushing yards per game, the fewest in the postseason, and zero rushing TDs. Mike Vrabel's defense has allowed fewer than 90 rushing yards in each of its three playoff games, and no RB has rushed for 40-plus yards. The return of Milton Williams to the middle of New England's defense has spurred the Pats' run defense. From Weeks 11-17, the Pats allowed 145.7 rushing yards and eight rushing TDs. Since Williams returned in Week 18, they've given up just 69.3 rush YPG and zero rushing scores.
The matchup doesn't profile for a big day from Walker, but Kubiak emphasized two things: continuing to stay balanced even if the rushing yards don't pile up, and finding other ways to get Walker the ball.
"I think every game we go into, you know, you have to be able to win more than one way because they're going to make it really hard for us to run the football," Kubiak said. "That's part of our identity, something that we want to do. But you've got to make adjustments when it's not going well. You look at the NFC Championship Game, and we didn't have our best rushing performance, and Sam (Darnold) played his best football. You look at the game before that, we played the Niners, and we ran the ball really well. We didn't have to throw it as much. You just have to plan for both of those scenarios going into the game.
"You've got to be ready to win the game scoring 50 or to win the game scoring nine. Just do whatever it takes to win."
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