INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Kenneth Walker III took the toss from Geno Smith, turned the right corner and then turned on the jets, racing by the Los Angeles Chargers' defense untouched for a 74-yard touchdown run that put an exclamation point on a statement victory by the Seattle Seahawks.

So, what's it like to be running in the open field with nothing in front of him but the end zone?

"It's a great feeling because it's rare," Walker said after the Seahawks' 37-23 win over the Chargers on Sunday at SoFi Stadium. "It doesn't really happen much in football, so when you get the opportunity, you've got to make the best of it."

Rare for most running backs, anyway.

But that's twice in three games that Seattle's rookie second-round pick has exploded for a long touchdown run in which no defender got a hand on him. His first NFL score was a 69-yarder against the New Orleans Saints in Week 5, when he took an inside handoff to the left, cut back to the right and kicked it into high gear. Both plays were exquisitely blocked. Walker and his 4.38 speed did the rest.

Per Next Gen Stats, he reached 22.09 mph on his 74-yard touchdown run. That's the fastest any ball carrier has clocked this season and tied for the second-fastest since the start of 2021.

So you can say that Walker, in more ways than one, is off to a fast start as the Seahawks' new RB1.

"That dude is special, man," Smith said. "Ken is a special player. You can just see the look in his eyes. He's focused. All he needs is a crease and he can be gone."

It seems like a long time ago that critics of Seattle's selection of Walker were complaining -- loudly -- that No. 41 overall was too early to take a running back. Never mind that the Seahawks knew at the time that Chris Carson likely wouldn't play again due to the neck injury that forced him to retire. They also knew they couldn't count on oft-injured Rashaad Penny to stay healthy, a concern that was realized when he suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the Saints game.

Walker himself missed much of training camp and the season opener after having a hernia procedure in mid-August. That helps explain why he didn't look completely settled over his first few games, when a couple of running plays had to be aborted because he went the wrong way to take the handoff.

Consider him settled now that he's rushed for 353 yards and four touchdowns on only 52 carries over the last three games. That includes 168 yards -- most by a rookie this season -- and two touchdowns on 23 carries against the Chargers. His 6.13 yards-per-carry average ranks second among all running backs.

The Seahawks already had a candidate for defensive rookie of the year in cornerback Tariq Woolen. Now Walker is emerging as a candidate for the offensive version of the award. He's third among rookies in rushing yards with 411 and tied for first with four rushing touchdowns, despite missing a game and not taking over as the starter until Week 6.

Walker is getting it done with the combination of speed and power that led some draft analysts, including ESPN's Todd McShay, to view him as the top running back in the 2022 class. Walker showed both on his 12-yard touchdown run against the Chargers, when he took an inside handoff, shot through the second level and plowed into the end zone with a defender clinging to his legs. He turned a few would-be losses into short gains by breaking tackles or jump-cutting to avoid them behind the line of scrimmage.

"He really did have some terrific runs," Carroll said. "He had a great 3-yard run one time when he got caught in the backfield. He just has a ton of ability."

Walker carried 21 times last week against the Arizona Cardinals in his first start and upped his carry number by two against the Chargers. Carroll said after each game that he likes those numbers, so Seattle's preferred workload for Walker likely won’t change with Travis Homer nearing his return from injured reserve. Homer, who typically shares third-down duties with DeeJay Dallas, is set to practice this week and could play Sunday against the New York Giants (4:25 p.m. ET, Lumen Field, Fox).

The Seahawks like Homer and Dallas in third-down and end-of-half situations because of their ability to pass block and catch the ball out of the backfield. Those were the two knocks on Walker's game coming out of Michigan State. But before he went down in training camp, he was making splash plays in the passing game and drew rave reviews from Carroll.

Walker has caught eight passes for 27 yards.

"There is nothing he can't do," Carroll said postgame Sunday. "He can catch it. He can run it. He can break big plays. He can run short yardage. He can run off tackle. He can run around the edge like you saw him on the big play. It's a terrific draft pick. He's a terrific guy to add to our football team and he's doing it."