Seattle Seahawks DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (shoulder) is on track to play in Week 18 against the Arizona Cardinals. The 23-year-old logged a DNP on Wednesday and was limited in practice on Thursday, before finally participating in full on Friday. Walker has been playing through a shoulder injury, so it may be that the Seahawks were simply managing his workload ahead of a must-win game to make the playoffs. Walker is set up for a big game on Sunday against one of the worst run defenses in the league. The Cardinals see the most rushing attempts per game in the league (31.0, tied with the Jets) and have allowed the most rushing yards. In their last meeting, Walker had his only 100-yard game of the season and will look to repeat that feat in the season finale. Walker has as good of a matchup as he could hope for to end the regular season and has RB1 potential in Week 18.

San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Sam Darnold will draw his first start of the season in the team's final regular season game on Sunday at home versus the Los Angeles Rams. On Wednesday head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed that starter Brock Purdy would see no action in Week 18 but that's no guarantee that Darnold will get all the snaps. On Friday morning general manager John Lynch commented "...we'll see if (third-string quarterback) Brandon Allen gets in there." In 2022 with the Panthers, Darnold averaged 14.4 fantasy points per game in a six-game stretch to finish the year, including a three-touchdown performance in Week 17, immediately followed by a dismal Week 18 when he produced less than one fantasy point. The Rams' pass defense has been the sixth-most generous to fantasy quarterbacks, but it's probably unwise to heed season-long statistics in a meaningless game with important starters on both sides resting. Darnold is an extremely unpredictable QB2 play in Week 18.

Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (shoulder) returned to a limited practice session on Thursday after he was listed as a non-participant in the first practice of the week on Wednesday. Head coach Pete Carroll said that Walker is in a better spot than he was last week, when he played through his shoulder injury and had 10 carries for 53 yards and a touchdown in the Week 17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Unless he has a setback on Friday, Walker should be active this Sunday in a must-win game against the Arizona Cardinals. It's a great matchup for Walker as well, and given all the uncertainty around the NFL in Week 18 with teams resting players, the 23-year-old second-year back will be a popular DFS play.

Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (shoulder) did not practice with the team on Wednesday. Walker has been playing through a shoulder in recent weeks and was forced from the Week 17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third quarter, but not before finding the end zone on 10 carries and 53 yards. He also added three receptions for 22 yards. The Seahawks are most likely giving Walker a breather early in the week at practice. The full expectation is that he'll return to practice in the next few days and serve as the team's primary RB in the Week 18 regular season finale in a great matchup against the Arizona Cardinals on the road. As long as Walker is active, he'll be a strong RB1 play in fantasy lineups in a must-win game for the Seahawks.

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp will be held out of the Week 18 contest versus the San Francisco 49ers. The Rams are choosing to rest Kupp, quarterback Matthew Stafford, running back Kyren Williams and defensive tackle Aaron Donald despite the fact that they could fall to the No. 7 seed in the NFC with a loss this weekend. Kupp thus finishes his 2023 season with 59 catches on 95 targets for 737 yards and five touchdowns in 12 games played. He put up slightly better numbers in 2022 despite playing in three fewer games, making this year a pretty big disappointment after missing the first four games of the year due to an injury suffered in training camp. With Kupp resting in Week 18, rookie Puka Nacua, Demarcus Robinson and Tutu Atwell will have bigger roles, albeit with Carson Wentz throwing them the pigskin.