Seahawks 2019 offense vs Seahawks 2018 offense: running backs
The Seahawks took a risk with one of their running backs this year. Let’s look at how the 2019 team compares to the 2018 team.
The Seahawks had lot of turnover at some positions this offseason. One spot that didn’t see too much change was at running back. One key player has departed and has been replaced by a holdover who saw very little playing time last year. Another big question is if another key player can finally live up to his potential, and his draft position.
One more thing: the roster is subject to near-constant change. So far this week we’ve seen the Seahawks re-sign wide receiver Jaron Brown and move tight end Ed Dickson to IR. They followed this move with another surprise by bringing fullback Nick Bellore back and releasing linebacker Austin Calitro. By the time you read this, the Hawks probably made another roster move.
That risk I mentioned at the beginning is a small one, as we’re not talking about the lead back. We’ll get back to that risk in a moment. The best news is that Chris Carson is back for his third season with Seattle. He looks as healthy as ever, and probably even stronger. He was quietly one of the league’s best running backs in 2018. In even better news, the Hawks coaching staff intends to use him in the passing game even more this year. Whether he’ll get 50 or more targets is subject to debate, but Carson will likely have his most productive season yet.
Carson’s main running mate remains the same as in 2018. That’s mostly good news, as the Seahawks first-round pick Rashaad Penny averaged 4.9 yards per carry. In his best game of the year, he piled up 108 yards on just a dozen attempts against the Rams when Carson couldn’t go. Penny made a lot of strides this offseason to improve but didn’t show much in preseason games. Hopefully, that was more a result of playing with the second unit, and not cause for concern.
Seahawks will turn to a familiar face on third down
Seattle Seahawks
The risk Seattle is taking is at the third-down specialist gig. Last year Mike Davis was basically willpower defined. He didn’t quite have the talent of Carson, but certainly had the drive. After he racked up over 700 yards from scrimmage for Seattle, he cashed in with the Chicago Bears. Of course, we wish him all the best. Have fun running over the Rams in November, Mike! (He had a meager 126 yards on 23 carries last year in two games last year).
In his absence, the Hawks have turned to C.J. Prosise. Prosise started off with a lot of promise but saw his career derailed time after time. To date, he has just 509 yards from scrimmage in three seasons. Even worse, 330 of those yards came in just three games. Those three games are exactly why Seattle has held out hope that he can stay healthy. Prosise has done that for the latter part of the preseason and was arguably the Hawks most dynamic back on the field.
The risk regarding Prosise is his health, not his performance. If he can stay healthy, he’ll push Penny hard for playing time. If Prosise does get injured, the Hawks will doubtless turn to rookie Travis Homer. He’ll need to step up fast, but looked good in the final preseason game versus the Raiders. Seattle also brought fullback Nick Bellore back to the squad as I mentioned earlier. If he gets one carry this year, you could probably win a lot of bar bets. His job is to clear the path for his buddies.
Overall, I expect Carson to be even more productive this year and Penny to be at least as good, if not better. I’m not as gung-ho as I was a couple of months ago, but I still expect big things from this duo. The loss of Davis could still hurt. If Prosise/Homer can contribute, the backs are even better than in 2018. If not, Carson’s improvement will only keep the running attack on par with last year.