Seahawks can expect breakout years from these three offensive players

Alex Collins

No, I’m not going with Rashaad Penny here. He’s a very popular choice, not only on our own site but on plenty of other media. Take Brock Huard’s comment on the Danny and Gallant podcast from 710ESPN here, comparing Cody Barton and Penny. Posting this link from .@Maura_Dool on the Twitterverse so you can jump right to his response:

I’ve been in Penny’s corner since he was picked, in what now seems like centuries ago. Since then, he just hasn’t proven himself ready to be The Man. He’s been a capable backup, but Chris Carson has missed seven games since Penny’s arrival. The Seahawks have this thing called practice, too. It just isn’t happening.

I am going for a running back though, and prodigal son Alex Collins is my choice here. He looked great in the preseason, and – yeah, I know, he looked great in the preseason in 2017, too. All he did when the Seahawks cut him was go off for over 1100 total yards with the Ravens that year. For me, that’s the key to his possible breakout status, the chance for combined yards, not just carries.

Here, let the Seattle Times great Bob Condotta tell you why Collins will be the next man up behind Carson:

"Collins, who signed a one-year deal in February, finished the preseason with 58 yards on 19 carries. That may not seem like much. But what impressed more is the way Collins did it. According to Pro Football Focus, Collins averaged 2.74 yards after contact per attempt, which last year would have ranked him in the top 10 in the NFL. He also had 10 receptions on 11 targets for 73 yards, showing a greater versatility to his game than earlier in his career."

Collins has simply outplayed Penny at this point, and it sounds like this time, Pete Carroll noticed. Now, the one-time practice squad player does have a bit of a roadblock ahead of him in the wonderful Carson. The only way Collins has a breakout year is if number 32 misses extensive time.

But as the first one off the bench to give Carson a rest or give the Seahawks a change of pace, Collins can still make a serious contribution to Seattle’s success. I hope he doesn’t get the opportunity to be a breakout player. But if it arises, he’s the man for the job. As for the last of my trifecta…