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

Chris Carson – Seahawks

Carson can make a bad line look much better than it is. Gurley might do that to some degree but his running style does not allow for him to simply bully defenders the same way that Carson’s does. Carson takes personal offense to anyone trying to tackle him.

There is almost no statistics where Seahawks back Carson does not shine. He breaks tackles and when he does get touched he earns even more yards. Seattle’s line was better in 2018 than in previous years but they also looked a lot better because Carson was running behind them, and through them and sometimes over them.

If the Rams had Carson in their backfield he would have the ability to put up as many yards as Gurley. The difference would have been that Carson would bring a mentality to the Rams that Gurley doesn’t have. Had Carson played in the Super Bowl against the Patriots he might have brought the kind of bully mentality that the Patriots didn’t feel comfortable with. If a defense gets used to a kind of finesse physicality, the only way to change the narrative is a back like Carson.

Again, I am not saying that Carson has more raw physical ability than Gurley. But Carson was a seventh-round, undervalued player. Gurley was a first round draft pick in 2015. Gurley was worth the pick and he is very good. But Carson runs like a player who wants a defensive player to feel he was underappreciated and the Seahawks are all the better for it.