Report: Vikings FA Target to See His Price Skyrocket
Speedy runner Kenneth Walker III knows a thing or two about timing. Coming off a sizzling playoffs, Mr. Walker — who looks like a Vikings FA target — is going to land a beefy payday in about a week.
In fact, the word that arrived from ESPN’s Benjamin Solak is that Walker is going to be in the middle of a “bidding war.” Landing him will therefore be a pricey proposition. Even with Minnesota looking to move out Aaron Jones, Walker could end up being too costly to acquire.
Vikings FA Target Kenneth Walker III Looking Expensive
Right now, Jordan Mason is the top running back. He’s coming off a season where he turned 159 carries into 758 yards — a tidy 4.8 yards-per-carry average — and 6 touchdowns.
A rugged runner, Mr. Mason doesn’t get enough credit for his athleticism. He has some wiggle, proving capable of gliding horizontally before sticking his foot in the dirt to climb vertically (with bad intentions in tow). In that sense, Mason blends Adrian Peterson and Dalvin Cook insofar as there’s both aggression and elegance in his running style.
Some skepticism exists for Mason carrying a starter’s workload. There is, nevertheless, some optimism about what he can do as the lead runner. What’s needed is someone to function as the thunder to his lightning.
The Vikings won’t be keen about getting into financial fights. Owning so few bullets means that the ammo will quickly run out if Rob Brzezinski needs to be aggressive when targeting talent. Much better will be a scenario where the fill-in GM can dig up value (think of Eric Wilson way outperforming his $2.6M cap charge last year for an example of positive value).
Adding Walker means paying top dollar. He’ll never have more leverage when negotiating than right now. Such is the power of offering an elite performance across Seattle’s run all the way up Mount Lombardi.
The 25-year-old is operating from within the prime of his career. He stands at 5’9″ and weighs 211 pounds, bringing back memories of smaller runners like Darren Sproles and Maurice Jones-Drew. Even better, Walker has a sweet nickname: K9.
Last season, the rushing yards were sturdy but not fantastic for Kenneth Walker. He turned 221 carries into 1,027 rushing yards (4.6 YPC average) and 5 touchdowns. Healthy, but not eye-popping production. Moreover, the 36 targets in the passing game resulted in 31 catches for 282 yards.
No matter how things go with Walker, the Vikings are desperate to arrive at some semblance of a balanced offense.
Asking Kevin O’Connell to shapeshift into Mike Zimmer — complete with a marked preference for running — isn’t fair or realistic. What is realistic, though, is demanding that the Vikings’ skipper helps his QB by handing the ball off more regularly. Doing so makes life easier for the passer, the o-line, and the defense. It behooves the Vikings to figure out how to run. Greater talent at RB is part of the equation.
Quite possibly, the Vikings opt to wait until the 2026 NFL Draft before inserting sturdy competition into the RB room beside Mr. Mason. If, however, the desire is to go bold, then Kenneth Walker is a very good player who is soon to see his contract with the Seahawks expire.
Whether Minnesota feels like offloading a pile of cap space to make it work, though, remains to be seen.
