Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season is finally here and opening weekend will continue on Sunday with the San Francisco 49ers visiting the Seattle Seahawks for an NFC West showdown at 4:05 p.m. ET on FOX.

The Seahawks posted a successful 10-7 regular season record in 2024, but barely missed out on securing the final NFC Wild Card spot. Veterans like Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp were added to the roster in the offseason and they will share the offense with returnees like running back Zach Charbonnet. He enters the year with an ADP (average draft position) in the 32-35 range among running backs across multiple scoring formats according to FantasyPros, so fantasy managers are high on him as a potential Flex option for the season.

Below, we’ll go over Charbonnet’s outlook in fantasy football for Week 1.

Fantasy Football analysis: Seahawks RB Zach Charbonnet

With starter Kenneth Walker III dealing with injuries throughout the 2024 season, Charbonnet was able to get plenty of work and ended up starting six games for Seattle. The 2023 second-round pick ended up posting 569 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on the ground to go along with 42 receptions for 340 receiving yards and a score through the air. That was good enough for him to finish the year as a top-25 fantasy running back across all formats.

Walker dealt with a foot injury during training camp and given his injury history, there is some belief that Charbonnet could eventually rip the starting job for himself in Seattle. Regardless of where he’s slotted on the depth chart, expect him to get plenty of burn throughout the campaign.

Start or sit in Week 1 standard/PPR leagues?

Start. San Francisco had the fourth-worst defensive rushing EPA in the league last season, so this could be an opportunity for the Seattle to get work done on the ground right out the gate. Walker will be ready to go as the Seahawks’ starter in the opener, but I expect Charbonnet to get plenty of reps as a change-of-pace option and could even get some scoring opportunities in the red zone. I think it’s worth the risk to start him in Week 1.