RENTON — A cheery Mike Macdonald was quick to fondly recall his February ride in a van with Kenneth Walker III.

The day after the Seattle Seahawks won their second Super Bowl in franchise history and Walker was named the game’s MVP — in what proved to be his final game with the team — the head coach and running back rode together for an hour en route to a media session.

While the Seahawks have struggled to establish a consistent rushing attack in 2026, Walker is in the midst of a breakout season in his first season with the Kansas City Chiefs, who visit Seattle on Sunday. But Macdonald was anything but upset when asked Wednesday if he regrets letting Walker leave Seattle.

“I love Ken,” Macdonald said with a wide grin. “I thoroughly enjoyed him being on our football team. We had some great one-on-one time. We had a fun, great relationship. I respect the heck out of him. Happy for him.

“But I think there’s mixed emotions. We’re happy for him, but also, we’re trying to figure out ways to stop this guy, too.”

Walker leads the NFL in rushing yards (665) through six weeks, despite the Chiefs already having their bye. He’s on pace for 2,261 rushing yards, which would break Eric Dickerson’s single-season record (2,105).

He will get his first crack against his former team when the Seahawks (3-3), who have dropped three of their past four games, host the undefeated Chiefs (5-0) on Sunday night at Lumen Field. Having eclipsed the century mark in four of his five games this season, Walker has as good a shot as any running back to become the first 100-yard rusher against the Seahawks in nearly two years.

Seattle’s defense has not allowed an individual 100-yard rusher in 35 consecutive games. Buffalo Bills running back James Cook was the last to do so, galloping for 111 yards in a 31-10 win against the Seahawks on Oct. 27, 2024, Macdonald’s eighth game as head coach.

“He has picked up where he’s left off from last season,” safety Julian Love said of Walker. “His tape looks incredible. So it’s an all-hands-on-deck effort to try to contain him, to try to stop him. He looks every bit as explosive as he (did) for the Seahawks.”

The Seahawks’ running backs are focusing on their own process, but they aren’t exactly oblivious to what a familiar face is up to elsewhere. George Holani has been keeping up with his former teammate’s exploits from afar.

“We’re all watching. Everybody’s all supporting,” Holani said last month. “Hoping he does well in everything he does. But when he plays us, it’s a different story.”

Walker showed what he could do in a lead role last season after the other half of Seattle’s running back tandem, Zach Charbonnet, tore his ACL in the divisional playoffs in January.

After averaging a career-low 13 carries per game during the regular season, Walker racked up 65 carries for 313 yards and four touchdowns — plus nine catches for 104 yards — in three playoff games. He totaled 27 carries for 135 yards in the Super Bowl, becoming the first running back to win the game’s MVP honors since Terrell Davis after the 1997 season, a month before his rookie contract was set to expire.

It was a fitting end to Walker’s Seattle tenure: When he finally got the chance to be the offense’s bell cow, he delivered — just like he has so far in Kansas City, where he’s averaging 21.2 carries per game, six more than his career high.

“Definitely not surprising. … You look at the tape and see, ‘Oh, man, this guy is incredible,’” Love said with a hearty chuckle. “We knew he was incredible. But that’s people above us.

“I think us players will always have a bond and a respect for K9. A lot of guys in here are incredibly close with him still. And because of what we did last year, that bond will be forever.”

Yes, championships last forever. But it seems both Walker and the Seahawks knew his future in Seattle was coming to an end. The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar reported that the Seahawks did not make Walker a contract offer before free agency opened in March, and there were no serious discussions about him re-signing (despite general manager John Schneider’s joke at the victory parade). Walker has since said he knew “sometime during the season” that he would be headed elsewhere in free agency.

Walker signed a three-year, $43 million contract with the Chiefs as Schneider prioritized retaining other free agents, particularly wide receiver Rashid Shaheed and cornerback Josh Jobe.

The Seahawks sought to replace Walker in a few ways. Schneider signed veteran Emanuel Wilson during free agency, then used the No. 32 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to select Jadarian Price out of Notre Dame. It was the fifth time in nine years that Schneider — once a running back himself — used a top-60 pick at the position, although the team has not signed a veteran running back to a multiyear contract since Chris Carson’s three-year deal in 2021.

Price landed on injured reserve in September with a chest injury, and though he is eligible to return as soon as Week 8 against the Chicago Bears, his timetable remains unclear. The 5-foot-10, 226-pound Wilson is averaging only 3.5 yards per carry in a lead role behind a shaky offensive line (the whole offense, including quarterback Sam Darnold, is struggling).

Charbonnet returned to practice on Oct. 1 and, for the first time since the injury, participated fully on Wednesday. He will likely be added to the active roster this week, and Macdonald said the fourth-year back could make his season debut against the Chiefs, just over eight months removed from surgery.

“It’s remarkable,” Macdonald said. “I know he’s had a certain date in mind, which is a really ambitious date. For those who have tried to come back from significant knee surgery, understand the undertaking that takes. Zach’s a beast. He looks great.”

If Charbonnet looks like his previous self, he could stabilize Seattle’s struggling run game. At minimum, he could soothe the team’s issues with ball security.

The Seahawks have lost five fumbles in six games, despite Darnold — who led the league in fumbles last season — having none. Price lost two in three games before landing on IR; Wilson and Holani have lost one each; and Shaheed, the speedy wide receiver, coughed up the rock in last week’s 17-14 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos. Charbonnet has never fumbled in 527 NFL touches after having only two fumbles in 640 college touches.

Shaheed, whom the Seahawks acquired from the New Orleans Saints last November in exchange for fourth- and fifth-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, is off to a slow start this season. He has 14 receptions and 162 yards through six games and hasn’t settled into the No. 2 wideout role alongside Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the NFL’s leading receiver.

That hasn’t gone unnoticed, after the Seahawks re-signed Shaheed on a three-year, $51 million contract — more than Walker got from the Chiefs — during free agency in March.

“We’ve seen it last year, seen it in spurts this year, him getting over the top of defenses,” Macdonald said of Shaheed. “That’s what we expect from him.”

Seattle’s current crop of running backs lacks a player of Walker’s pedigree. First-year offensive coordinator Brian Fleury has gotten creative, having Shaheed carry the ball four times. He scored his lone touchdown this season on a 28-yard scamper on a toss play against the Los Angeles Chargers. The versatile Shaheed has never had more than nine carries in a season.

Earlier this season, Wilson said he was aware of naysayers doubting Seattle’s running back room and its ability to weather the loss of Walker.

“We take that with a chip on our shoulder,” Wilson said. “But, then again, we’re not really worried about it. We’re just worried about what we can do to contribute to the team and just keep this team going.”

Through six games, Seattle ranks 18th in rushing yards per game (107.2), while Kansas City ranks second (159.8). The Seahawks rank last in the NFL in expected points added on rushes (-42.3), per TruMedia, although the five lost fumbles account for a whopping -26.8 EPA.

Walker, meanwhile, never lost a fumble on 954 touches across four seasons with the Seahawks. He has yet to cough up the rock with the Chiefs and is averaging nearly twice as many rushing yards per game (133) as he did in his most prolific season with Seattle (70), when he was a rookie in 2022.

“He’s off to a tremendous start,” Macdonald said. “The stats back it up. The tape definitely backs it up. He’s playing great football.”

Seattle’s banged-up running back room is inching closer to being fully operational. Whenever both Charbonnet and Price are back, the backfield setup will have some similarities to the past few seasons.

Still, the Seahawks didn’t draft Price (or sign Wilson) to directly replace Walker.

“Who is going to be the next guy up?” Holani said. “Who’s going to (be) the next K9?

So far, that question remains unanswered. And on Sunday, Walker will have an opportunity to remind his former employer who was once on their side.

“It’s exciting to see him do his thing,” Holani said. “We always knew what he was capable of. It’s no surprise.”