Carlos Hyde could be great fit with the Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks need some running back depth in 2020, even if Chris Carson is healthy. Carlos Hyde might be the answer.

Let us assume that Rashaad Penny is out for a while. The Seahawks running back was injured late in 2019 and the injury was serious: ACL. Running backs take some time to come back from this kind of thing, as any human would, so Seattle likely needs to find a replacement to Penny.

Penny wasn’t just Chris Carson‘s backup, though. He was becoming the kind of guy who would get a bunch of carries in any given game and be productive. So the Seahawks need to find the same kind of player or at least a close proximity. Carlos Hyde is that guy.

After a fairly underwhelming beginning to his career, possibly due to Hyde not playing on great 49ers teams and then bad Browns and Jaguars teams, Hyde had a good year in 2019 with the Texans. For the first time since 2016, Hyde averaged more than 4 yards-a-carry (4.4). He also ran for a career-high 1,070 yards.

Hyde hasn’t been asked to catch tons of passes in his career, but he is capable of it. In 2017 with the 49ers, Hyde had 59 catches on 88 targets. The Seahawks do not throw to its running backs a bunch, so if Hyde could catch 20 passes it would prove he is dangerous enough to have to keep an eye on when Russell Wilson drops back to pass.

Hyde also holds on to the ball fairly well. He has fumbled 15 times in 1,201 career touches. This equates to 1.2 percent of the time he has the ball. Carson, as great as he is, fumbles a bit more with 10 fumbles in 638 career touches. Or 1.5 percent of the time.

If the Seahawks are going to look for a running back to be their second option, assuming Penny starts on the PUP list, then a veteran and a proven guy should be the way to go. Marshawn Lynch probably won’t return. But Carlos Hyde, at the right price, would be a good decision to find a way to sign.