Chris Carson Retirement – Fantasy Football Fallout
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News broke of Chris Carson’s retirement at the age of 27 due to a neck injury. After spending five seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, it’s always tough to see a veteran retire early, especially under these circumstances. Carson was ranked 96th in the 2020 NFL Top 100 players. He may never have been viewed as an “elite” running back, but he produced steadily over the years and he’ll always be a Seahawk.
Fantasy Football Outlook
Rashaad Penny
With Carson retiring, it puts the Seahawks backfield down to Rashaad Penny and 2nd Round rookie Kenneth Walker III. Penny came back from an ACL injury last season and showcased the talent he has. He signed a one-year deal in March worth up to $5.75 million, paying him in the top half of NFL starters. Over the final five games in 2021, he rushed for 692 yards and six touchdowns coming off an ACL injury, proving he can produce even behind a bottom-ranked offensive line. Penny now enters his fifth season in the NFL after finally breaking out last year.
The Seahawks recently invested the 9th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft on Charles Cross this offseason, showing improvement on the line.
Penny showed in the final five games the talent level he has. If Seattle did not draft a running back, Penny may be going in the first five rounds in all formats despite the injury history, but it’s this injury history that has everyone thinking Walker will end up the starter this season. Currently, on NFC, Penny is going pick 90, while Walker is going pick 83 so clearly, people aren’t buying what Seattle is saying.
Kenneth Walker III
Walker was drafted pick 41 in the 2nd Round, with being the running back of the future in mind. With Penny having never logged a full season, Seattle drafted insurance at the running back position and grabbed arguably one of the best, if not the best, pure runners in this class in Walker. We could be looking at a pure committee approach here, but it depends on health. Both running backs have missed time this spring due to hamstring injuries. Seattle is currently saying Penny is going to be the starter, with Walker seeing time in passing situations.
While I think Penny is the early favorite to lead this backfield despite the comments out of the organization saying such, I think Walker ends up being the workhorse by mid-season. Penny is going to be a good pick early on as well. He should start day one and may provide a few weeks of RB1 play. Walker was drafted to be the running back of the future here and if given a chance I think he takes over and doesn’t look back. Be patient if you draft Walker and he goes several weeks as the backup, the pick is going to be worth it.
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Dynasty Outlook
For both Penny and Walker, this is obviously good news for their current dynasty value. If you have been sitting on Penny since his rookie season, you’re finally getting some value out of him and honestly, it could be a time to consider selling high. If you have some opponents out there who believe Penny could be a workhorse or the future of this offense, he’s worth selling high. Especially to a contending team.
As for Walker, you likely just used an early 1st round rookie pick on him. You’re going to want to just hold Walker right now. Selling high is worth considering if someone is trying to pay an absolute premium. The upside is hard to ignore if Walker ends up getting the lead running back role or Penny can’t stay healthy.
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