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The Seahawks picked a RB at 41 and Seahawks Twitter did its thing

Michigan v Michigan State Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

The Seattle Seahawks started the 2022 NFL Draft off on Thursday night by sticking at pick number 9 overall and drafting potential franchise left tackle Charles Cross out of Mississippi State. That got fans who have longed for an improved offensive line excited, leading to very elevated levels of optimism for a Day 2 on which the Seahawks hold three picks, including picks 40 and 41 early in the second round.

The Hawks used the first of those two selections to add to their pass rush, picking up Boye Mafe out of Minnesota. It wasn’t a fan favorite, but as a pick that addressed a position of need, many fans were at least happy to have a potential pass rusher added to the roster.

Then came the second of the back-to-back picks for the Seahawks, with the team selected running back Kenneth Walker III out of Michigan State. Walker is a fine football player and a very good running back, but Seattle is set to see turnover at several spots from 2021, including losing starters at cornerback (D.J. Reed), middle linebacker (Bobby Wagner), defensive end (Kerry Hyder, Rasheem Green and Carlos Dunlap), three out of five spots on the offensive line (Duane Brown, Brandon Shell and Austin Blythe) and quarterback (Russell Wilson).

Thus, the addition of a running back in the second round was not high on the priority list for most fans, and several took to Twitter to “discuss” the selection. Before jumping into that, though, the selection of Walker does provide some clues about the position group heading into 2022, so here are some of the thoughts about the pick.

For starters, many have long held that the Seahawks would add a running back in the draft for very simple and easy to understand reasons.

With that in mind, Corbin Smith of Seahawks Maven makes this observation that is hard to argue with.

It obviously doesn’t rule out Carson being around for 2022, but it certainly leads to some raised eyebrows. In any case, regardless of whether or not Carson returns, the reason the Seahawks added Walker is not hard to find with even just a little digging.

To add to these impressive measurables, Walker was a tackle breaking machine playing in a zone-heavy scheme at Michigan State.

Getting back to the overreactions online, however, grab some popcorn to enjoy the show.

So, whether one thinks the team did well with the selection of Walker, or whether one hates the pick as using a second round selection on a running back when there are plenty of other holes that need addressing on the Seattle roster, at the end of the day Walker is now a member of the Seahawks and it’s on to the third round.