Less than nine months ago, Kenneth Walker III powered the Seahawks to a Super Bowl LX victory with 161 yards from scrimmage, won Super Bowl MVP ... and then left Seattle, becoming the first Super Bowl MVP to change teams the ensuing offseason in over two decades.

Walker took Seattle's entire running game with him. While he leads the NFL in rushing yards and yards per carry in Kansas City, the Seattle running game is wallowing among the league's worst. With Zach Charbonnet missing the first six weeks of the season, Seattle has rotated through runners -- first-round rookie Jadarian Price leading the way at first before landing on IR with a chest injury, then Emanuel Wilson after Price's injury, with a sprinkling of George Holani as a change-of-pace/third-down/pass-catching option.

None have produced. Not only that, but all three have committed the cardinal sin: turning the ball over. Price lost fumbles in Week 2 and Week 3. Wilson and Holani both lost fumbles in Week 5, gifting the 49ers 14 points. Holani's, with Seattle simply trying to run out the first-half clock, was particularly awful, and Mike Macdonald could hardly believe his eyes.

The Seahawks rank last in rushing expected points added, largely due to an enormous number of fumbles. But even excluding fumbles, Seattle ranks 27th in rushing success rate, a measure of down-to-down efficiency. Seattle's 34 runs of 0 or negative yards are tied for eighth-most.

Charbonnet will help -- he has zero fumbles in his NFL career,  he is a good pass catcher and protector, and he has 21 touchdowns over the past two seasons -- but to lean on him heavily would be unwise. It's not just because of the injury, but also because he's never been a bell cow. He split backfield duties with Walker each of the last three years. His career high in touches per game is 12.8, set last year. Furthermore, Charbonnet simply doesn't provide the explosive element Walker did.

Someone who does provide an explosive element and bell cow capability is Colts running back Jonathan Taylor. He has topped 1,500 yards from scrimmage each of his last three healthy years, and last year he had 1,963, as well as 20 total touchdowns. With the Colts firing GM Chris Ballard earlier this week, Indianapolis could be looking to sell.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said if Taylor is available, he'll 1) have many potential suitors and 2) have a high price. Rapoport also pointed out the Colts' interim GM, Ed Dodds, came up through Seattle (he was with the team from 2007-16) and has strong connections there.

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Does the shoe fit for Taylor and the Seahawks? Does it even make sense to see if it does? Here are the reasons for and against Seattle making the move.

Why the Seahawks should trade for Jonathan Taylor

Taylor, 27, is still a stud. He's maybe not quite as studly this year -- many of his rate numbers are down -- but there might be reasons for that.

The Colts' offense is a mess. Like the Seahawks, they are turning the ball over a ton. Unlike the Seahawks, they have no answer outside the run game. Alec Pierce has appeared in two games due to an ankle injury that required surgery this offseason and then got re-aggravated. This was a thin receiver group before Pierce, but now it has no deep threat. Tyler Warren has also missed time.

All of this is to say things are stacked against Taylor. He is currently averaging 1.25 yards before contact per rush, which would be the lowest number of his career. Taylor's 2.79 yards per attempt are down from last year, but not a career-worst. His tackle avoidance rate is also down, but it's harder to make people miss when there aren't as many clear running lanes to the second level.

Taylor showed he can still be a major factor. He has had 120+ yards from scrimmage in three of six games this season. He has also scored multiple touchdowns in three of those six games. His numbers may be down -- 4.0 yards per carry -- but this is a certified bell cow. He'd take the pressure off the turnover-prone Sam Darnold and would be able to carry the offense by himself for stretches if needed. A relentless run game plus a relentless, dominant defense sounds like a pretty good combination.

If the Seahawks want to put their best foot forward in defending their title, they have to find answers in the run game. First-year offensive coordinator Brian Fleury was in San Francisco when the 49ers acquired Christian McCaffrey and elevated him into superstar status. He'd know how to elevate Taylor.

Plus, the Seahawks have crushed their in-season trades recently: Rashid Shaheed last year, Ernest Jones the year before, and Leonard Williams the year before that. Taylor could be the next game changer.

Why the Seahawks shouldn't trade for Jonathan Taylor

At 3-3, Seattle is far from out of it, especially in an NFC that doesn't look very deep beyond the loaded NFC North. Charbonnet's return will provide far more stability to a running game that needs it, and Macdonald anticipates a "sooner rather than later return" for Price after the Week 7 game against the Chiefs.

Seattle just invested a first-round pick in Price, too. He looked very good in the season opener against the Patriots and was solid against the Cardinals in Week 2, aside from the fumble. Another fumble in Week 3 against the Commanders plus an injury is a tough combination, but his return should provide a boost in the explosives department.

Taylor's dip in efficiency this year doesn't tell the whole story by itself, but it's not a good sign, either. He led the NFL in touches in 2025, his most since 2021. He has missed at least three games due to injury in three of the last four seasons. Yes, he's only 27, but the wear and tear on his body is considerable.

Through six games, Taylor doesn't have a single carry of 25+ yards; he had seven last year and eight the year before. He isn't producing big plays at the rate he was even a year ago. NFL Next Gen Stats has him averaging -0.16 yards over expected per rush, the first time ever he's been on the negative side of that metric. In fact, he's usually been one of the best. That downward trend is concerning, and he's signed with a significant salary cap hit through 2028.

He is still a very, very good player. But an elite one? Potentially not. And if he costs what an elite player costs -- not just with trade compensation, but actually payment into the future -- the Seahawks should pass. Just because they've had success in recent trades doesn't make Taylor the right one.

Final verdict

The Seahawks should not trade for Jonathan Taylor, and it's not just because Taylor might not be the player he once was, or because the Seahawks have two players at his position coming back.

The biggest reason to not make a trade is Seattle has bigger issues offensively. The line is a mess, ranking 23rd in PFF's pass-blocking grades, 23rd in ESPN's pass-block win rate, and 25th in ESPN's run-block win rate. Macdonald acknowledged the issues up front after a Week 6 loss to the Broncos, saying "the quarterback is getting hit way too much ... everybody sees that."

Taylor would help -- there's no doubt about that -- but what would help much more is Taylor's teammate Quenton Nelson. A stalwart guard for the last nine seasons in Indianapolis, Nelson is still playing at a very high level. Could he come in at left guard and move Grey Zabel to right guard to fortify the interior?

If it's not Nelson, it could be another guard or a center. Seattle needs more up front than it does in its backfield, and finding a cost-effective solution there will be much smarter than hoping one talented back can lift up an offensive ecosystem currently being dragged down by its blocking.