Seahawks RB Zach Charbonnet Delivered Historic Efficiency in 2025
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Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) runs for a touchdown during the third quarter against the Houston Texans at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images [/caption]
Going into the 2025 campaign, many Seahawks fans wondered what the split would be like between Seattle’s two best running backs in Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet.
With the regular season now officially in the books, Walker had nearly 40 more carries than Charbonnet with 1,027 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Meanwhile, Charbonnet’s 2025 season was a masterclass in efficiency, particularly within the structure of Klint Kubiak’s offense.
Seattle didn’t ask Charbonnet to be a volume-chasing stat monster. Instead, he maximized every carry, every touch, and every opportunity. His decisiveness and downhill style fit seamlessly into Kubiak’s zone-based run scheme, where patience, vision, and timing are paramount. The UCLA product consistently pressed the line of scrimmage, forced linebackers to commit, and punished defenses once he found daylight.
Saturday night in Santa Clara was a perfect microcosm of Charbonnet’s season. Walker and Charbonnet had a near 50-50 split in carries, with Charbonnet edging Walker by one. However, Charbonnet was the one to find the endzone. In fact, his 27-yard scamper across the goaline was the only touchdown for either side all night.
That score marked Charbonnet’s 12th of the season, which finished tied for seventh in the entire NFL in rushing touchdowns. Only five running backs and Josh Allen, who had 14 rushing scores in 579 rushing yards, which isn’t unusual for a quarterback inside the red zone, had more rushing touchdowns around the league than Charbonnet.
Yet, every running back around the leaderboard with Charbonnet had over 1,200 rushing yards with the exception of Josh Jacobs in Green Bay. Meanwhile, Charbonnet had 730 rushing yards. It’s a stark number that jumps out at you when looking at the rushing touchdown leaderboard among running backs.
Charbonnet reached the endzone at a rate that borders on elite and historic. His 12 rushing scores slots in as just the 14th time a player has achieved that feat in franchise history. He’s just the seventh different Seahawks running back to reach a dozen rushing touchdowns in a year.
Yet Charbonnet did it with less than 750 rushing yards, the only one on that franchise list who can say that.
In fact, scoring at that kind of clip with so few rushing yards puts him in elite company among running backs. The last time a running back had less than 750 rushing yards and at least 12 rushing touchdowns was Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson in 2009. That’s the kind of company in regards to efficiency that Charbonnet is in.
Charbonnet earned the third-highest Pro Football Focus grade among all running backs with at least 150 rushing attempts. Interestingly, it should be mentioned that Ken Walker was second just in front of him.
In a league obsessed with explosive plays, Charbonnet’s 2025 season was a reminder of the value of efficiency. He didn’t need to dominate the highlight reels to dominate situations that decide games. For the Seahawks offense, that reliability, especially in the red zone, was just as impactful as any long run, providing the perfect complement to Walker’s home run ability.
