The Seahawks have spent a second-round pick on a running back in each of the last two drafts. Neither of those picks was on the practice field on Sunday.

Kenneth Walker III, who was last year in the conversation for Offensive Rookie of the Year, is still on the sideline with a groin injury, an absence exacerbated by rookie Zach Charbonnet suffering a shoulder injury that led him to be held out of practice.

Charbonnet is out indefinitely while he has the injury evaluated by doctors.

Head coach Pete Carroll, per Gregg Bell of The Tacoma News Tribune, told reporters:

"Zach, he’s got a little shoulder thing that we are checking out right now. Going to take some time to figure it out. We’d love to have those guys. We’d love to have them back out here. But they are not ready."

Charbonnet's problem will be of much bigger concern than the injury to Walker. Time on the practice field is more important for the rookie as he learns the Seattle offense, and the nature of his injury is more serious given the position he plays. 

Indeed, there is clear potential for such an injury to resurface with the physicality playing running back in the NFL demands.

As such, the Seahawks will likely continue to be cautious with Charbonnet as they switch to padded practices, robbing the former UCLA back of much-needed reps.

With Walker, there is little need for the Seahawks to risk aggravating a muscle injury. He has already shown he can thrive in the Seattle attack having rushed for 1,050 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie, meaning there is little incentive for the Seattle to hurry him back to practice.

The absences of Walker and Charbonnet provide opportunities for DeeJay Dallas and rookie seventh-rounder Kenny McIntosh, both players who could well be needed to play significant snaps if there are injures at running back in the regular season.

Dallas and McIntosh have the chance to increase Seattle's confidence in their backfield depth. Yet the point of drafting Charbonnet was to give the Seahawks a dynamic one-two punch in the backfield. 

The Seahawks obviously believe Charbonnet can help take the burden off Walker and ensure the running game does not suffer when the former Michigan State star is off the field. 

But the longer his shoulder injury lingers, the harder it will be for Charbonnet to fulfil such a role. For the Seahawks' run game to take the shape they envisioned, they need some good news from the doctors in the coming days.

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