Ranking the top five running backs in the Seahawks’ NFC West

Rashaad Penny – Seahawks

This might seem like a homer pick and maybe it is. But the Seahawks will rely on Penny a lot this season. When Chris Carson isn’t on the field, Penny will be. The question about Penny isn’t his talent; He has got lots of that. What we don’t know about Penny is how healthy he can stay and how he can play through pain.

Of course, Penny was just a rookie last season and I am certainly not ready to write him off as a first-round bust because there is simply no reason to. Penny seemed to become a bit more comfortable with the speed of the NFL once he started getting a few more snaps last year. Then injuries hit.

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1063245776917164033

Penny had never had to learn to play through pain before. In the NFL, this is something every player has to deal with. There should be no question about Penny’s athleticism, speed and size. If he Penny can learn to harness all his strengths, he might not be just one of the top five running backs in his division but in the entire league.

I have Penny ranked here because of his potential and how Seattle will use him. The 49ers have several backs good enough to make this list, but Seattle features their backs a bit more and have a little more opportunity to make a big impact on each game. If Seattle is very good this year, Penny will be a reason why.