The 2024 season was a mix of technical consistency and volume limitations for Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet. In his second year in the NFL, Charbonnet showed maturity in understanding the offensive system and versatility in using running techniques, but he also faced challenges such as sharing touches with Kenneth Walker III and a lack of explosiveness on long plays.

It is worth remembering that due to injuries to Ken Walker, including the fact that the RB ended the year on IR, Charbonnet had to be the RB1 of an anemic Seahawks running game in 2024.

Could he have a more prominent role in 2025?

Charbonnet 2023 vs Charbonnet 2024

Charbonnet had a subtle increase in volume and participation in 2024, but his total production did not increase significantly.

In 2023:

16 games, 2 starts; 108 carries;
462 rushing yards;
4.28 yards per carry;
1 rushing TD;
33 receptions;
209 receiving yards;
0 receiving TDs;
141 touches;
671 total yards;

In 2024:

17 games, 6 starts;
135 carries;
569 rushing yards;
4.2 yards per carry;
8 rushing TDs;
42 receptions;
340 receiving yards;
1 receiving TDs;
177 touches;
909 total yards;

Patience and Vision

He was lethal on runs like inside zone and duo, where his reading of blocks shone.

Pharaoh Brown, who should be a blocking TE, allows a quick infiltration. Charb cuts to the outside and finishes the run with physicality. According to PFF, his average of 3.35 yards after first contact put him in the top 10 among RBs with at least 100 carries.

Seattle’s OL can’t create space. Notice that both LBs (Jordyn Brooks and Anthony Walker Jr) are in position to defend their gaps, since neither OL has managed to get to the second level. He can see that RG Anthony Bradford has a slight advantage, and so, allows the cut. Then he wins the 1v1 against the LB and scores his TD.

The Seahawks call a Duo and Charb manipulates the LB to gain yards. Notice that he makes the correct read of No. 44 (Jamien Sherwood), threatens the cut to the OL’s right side and takes the LB out of the play. He finds space on the opposite side and has another good run.

He improved a lot in this in his second year. At times he seemed rushed. On this play, he waits for Connor Williams’ block to move forward so he can explode.

Good call and fantastic blocks by Jalen Sundell and Sataoa Laumea. Charbonnet waits for the blocks to happen. At the end of the play he still threatens to cut inside, creating a better angle for Sundell.

Here it wasn’t on a run, but Charb shows his vision by finding spaces to gain yards on this screen.

Fullback Project?

I’ve read countless comments that Zach Charbonnet should gain weight and try to model himself on the legend John L. Williams. I disagree with that and still believe a lot in Charb as a RB, but there were some plays as a FB here.

A creative call by Ryan Grubb with Charb lining up as a FB in an offset formation. With the threat of Ken Walker in the backfield, Charb gets the ball and if Laken Tomlinson was able to at least touch a defender, the gain would have been greater.

WOW!

What could he do differently?

He was the victim of a terrible OL, especially in the running game. In countless plays, unless he was an illusionist capable of teleporting, he couldn’t do anything different.

Early in the play, Noah Fant is thrown several yards back, forcing Charb to make the cut. On the other side, a defender is left unblocked and the RB can do nothing, failing in his fourth down attempt.

Pass Protection:

He received a 74.2 grade from PFF in pass blocking (for comparison, Ken Walker achieved 29.7 with 3 hits and 4 hurries in 44 pass block snaps), allowing a sack, a hit and five hurries in 100 snaps.

Reacts quickly and defends the blitzer. He has no problem sacrificing himself in contact, but needs to improve his pass pro technique. Note that after contact he does not have the best angle to stay in front of the opponent.

Good job detecting the blitz coming from the backfield. Again, good contact against the opponent, but still needs to improve positioning after impact.

A portrait of Seattle’s OL. In a four-on-two matchup, the 49ers are still able to get to the QB due to their inability to process what the 49ers DL was doing. I confess that despite the solid numbers in pass pro, watching the tape, Charb still has room to improve a lot. It’s worth remembering that in that game against the Packers when Geno Smith was injured, the RB made a mistake in protection and allowed the hit.

Types of runs and effectiveness

Based on data from NFL Next Gen Stats and PFF, Charbonnet had the following performance by run concept:

Inside Zone: 62 attempts, 271 yards, 4.37 yards per carry, 52.4% success rate; Duo: 28 attempts, 122 yards, 4.36 yards per carry, 50.0% success rate;

Outside Zone: 19 attempts, 62 yards, 3.26 yards per carry, 36.8% success rate;

Power: 15 attempts, 64 yards, 4.27 yards per carry, 46.6% success rate;

Counter: 9 attempts, 38 yards, 4.22 yards per carry, 44.4% success rate;

Toss/Stretch: 6 attempts, 17 2.83 yards per carry, 33.3% success rate;

In summary, Charbonnet shined on runs between the tackles and struggled on lateral calls that require more acceleration and agility. The RB has fared notably better on gap runs than in zone, finishing with 5.1 yards per attempt on gap plays compared to 3.5 in zone.

The reverse is true for Walker, who has averaged 4.4 yards per attempt in his career on zone runs, compared with 4.0 on gap runs. New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s teams have ranked in the top seven in zone concept frequency over the past four seasons.

Klint Kubiak and John Benton’s Playing Style and Fit with the Offense

Zach Charbonnet is a patient, physical, and technical running back with an excellent understanding of blocking and gap reading. He prefers contact over evasion and is extremely reliable in short-gain situations and protecting the quarterback.

This profile fits very well with the offensive background of Klint Kubiak (offensive coordinator) and John Benton (OL coach and zone blocking guru):

Klint Kubiak comes from an offensive tree based on a structured ground game based on inside/outside zone and play-action, where backs with intelligent reading and consistency thrive. John Benton, a disciple of Shanahan’s system, specializes in mobile offensive lines and zone blocking, favoring RBs who can identify gaps in the OL flow, exactly as Charbonnet has shown to do well.

Charbonnet has everything to thrive in this new system. He aligns with the new coaching staff’s offensive philosophy — especially on inside zone and duo runs, which should remain in the playbook. In addition, his reliability on 3rd down makes him an important piece in the committee offense that Kubiak tends to use.

Final Thoughts

Charbonnet didn’t have a flashy season, but he showed technical evolution, consistency and situational intelligence. If he can add more explosiveness to his game — with a focus on acceleration after the cut and efficiency on lateral runs — he could indeed compete for a bigger workload.

With a new coaching staff taking over the Seahawks’ offense, it’s possible that the scheme will favor vertical runs and zone passes — situations where Charbonnet excelled. If the team reduces its reliance on Walker’s big plays and values ​​safe, well-protected backs, Charbonnet could take on at least 45% of the backfield’s touches.

If he continues to improve, 2025 could be the year that Zach Charbonnet stops being the “complementary RB” and becomes the silent protagonist who moves the offense’s chains.