It's no secret that the Seattle Seahawks are on the hunt for a fullback. One highly respected NFL analyst projected a hot draft pick as the right player, but the Hawks already have a better prospect on the roster.
New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has made it clear that he believes the key to unlocking the full potential of the Seahawks offense is to get a fullback on the field. He wants to ensure that Seattle's running game is in high gear at all times, and having a fullback lead the way is one of the best methods to ensure that happens.
Brock Huard said the Seahawks need to take a serious look at Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo to fill the role as their new fullback. Now, Huard's a very smart guy, especially in football. But he couldn't be more wrong about this projection. I'm well aware that by saying this, I'm guaranteeing that the Hawks will take Skattebo, but hear me out.
The Seahawks already have the fullback they need on the roster
So Derrick Henry ran for over 1,900 yards last year. The casual fan may be blissfully unaware that fullback Patrick Ricard was the beast that led the way. After all, he didn't make the Pro Bowl on the strength of his zero carries or three receptions. While Philadelphia doesn't use a fullback much, they employ this weird concept that is unknown in Seattle. I think they call it an offensive line.
At 6'3" and 300 pounds, Ricard is an anomaly in the world of NFL fullbacks, to be sure. But he's not exactly the only fullback who got a W-2 this year. You did file your taxes, right, 12s? Most of the big boys in the league aren't quite that large, but they do most certainly fall within a pretty narrow range. Here's a list of 10 of the league's more successful recent and current FBs.
Name | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|
Daryl Johnston | 6' 2" | 238 |
Howard Griffith | 6' 0" | 230 |
James Develin | 6' 3" | 255 |
Larry Centers | 6' 0" | 225 |
Lorenzo Neal | 5' 11" | 255 |
Mike Alstott | 6' 1" | 248 |
Tom Rathman | 6' 1" | 230 |
Kyle Juszczyk | 6' 2" | 235 |
Michael Robinson | 6' 1" | 240 |
Mack Strong | 6' 0" | 245 |
Average | 6' 1" | 240 |
Please go away if you have to ask who those last two guys are. Kidding - but Google them, for goodness' sake. This is a reasonable representation of some of the best fullbacks in the game in the past 30 years. The fullbacks, those of us with a few gray hairs, think of as the all-time greats - players like John Riggins, Larry Csonka, and Franco Harris - played in a very different league.
Not gonna lie, I think it's pretty cool that Michael Robinson popped up as the prototypical size for the current NFL fullback. His career stats match up pretty well with the expectations of modern fullbacks: in 112 career games, he only had 115 carries for 422 yards. He added 75 catches for 610 yards and scored five times in his career.
Now let's look at how Kubiak used his fullbacks with the Vikings in 2021 and the Saints last year.
Player | Team | Snaps | Carries | Receptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
C.J. Ham | Vikings | 376 | 7 | 17 |
Chris Herndon | Vikings | 184 | 0 | 4 |
Adam Prentice | Saints | 272 | 0 | 0 |
To be accurate, Ham and Herndon also got some snaps at tight end. As for Prentice, he was targeted four times, so he had his chances. It's also worth noting that he's credited with seven starts, even though he was used virtually exclusively as a blocking back. As for the size of these guys, Prentice is 6'0", 250 pounds, while Ham is 5'11" and 250, with Herndon coming in at 6'4" and 253. He's a converted tight end, after all.
So Kubiak clearly likes the prototype modern NFL fullback. A chunky dude with plenty of blocking skill, who maybe can catch a few passes and can carry the rock once a game - I mean, if we absolutely have to do that. That profile is about as far from Cam Skattebo as you can get. Yeah, he's kind of chunky at 5'10" and 219, but he's a good 30 pounds underweight for the prototype Kubiak follows.
Here's the real issue: virtually no draft sites see him as a great, or even good, blocker. As reported on nfldraftbuzz.com: "Pass protection is wildly inconsistent - willing to stick his nose in but technique breaks down and will occasionally whiff completely on assignments." Would Skattebo be a great addition to the Seahawks?
Absolutely, he would. But he's not a fullback. As for his draft position, which Huard said, "And because of it [a 4.65 40], he won’t be a first- or second-round pick. If he’s in the third round, make him a Seattle Seahawk." The Hawks have two picks in the second and two in the third round, but even if Skattebo falls that far, Seattle desperately needs a couple of guards.
Could the Seahawks draft a better traditional fullback, a 250-pound bruiser in the mold of Mack Strong? Sure, but those guys are available late in the draft now. Kyle Juszczyk, Michael Robinson, and Lorenzo Neal were all fourth-round picks. Patrick Ricard wasn't even drafted. The position is so undervalued that most sites no longer list fullbacks as a separate position.
Now, if the Seahawks want a player who can do all the things Skattebo does, and is an even better blocker, they already have him. We all know what Zach Charbonnet can do as a running back and receiver out of the backfield. The bonus is that he's also an excellent blocker.
Pro Football Focus (subscription required) graded him at 74.2 in pass blocking and 62.6 at run blocking. That's even better than Ricard's grades (69.2 and 59.4, respectively).
Everything we've seen so far from Kubiak shows that he wants a dedicated hammer in the backfield to blast holes for Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker, and keep Sam Darnold on his feet. If he decides he wants a solid blocker who can pick up the tough yards and give his quarterback an extra target, he already has number 26 on the roster.