Seahawks Newest Offensive Wrinkle: Intriguing Flexibility?
With only one guaranteed game left in his rookie season, Seattle Seahawks receiver Dareke Young has yet to make his first NFL reception. There have been a few close calls along the way, including narrowly missing out on a big play against the 49ers in Week 15 when he wasn't quite able to get his feet down inbounds just outside of the end zone.
But the uber-athletic seventh round pick out of Lenoir-Rhyne has been a stalwart on special teams all season, generating four tackles in kick and punt coverage while downing several punts deep in opposing territory. Most notably, as of late, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has found a fascinating, unexpected way for Young to make a positive impact without the football in his hands.
Formerly a running back at the Division II level, Young ran for 653 yards in his sophomore and junior seasons for the Bears, averaging 7.5 yards per carry. In addition, he scored eight touchdowns on the ground while also finding the end zone 10 times as a receiver, which paved the way for a position change prior to a COVID-19 postponed season. Logging extensive snaps out of the backfield in a run-heavy modernized Wing T scheme, he gained valuable experience blocking for teammates as well.
Along with seeing an uptick in playing time at receiver in the second half of his rookie campaign, the Seahawks have leaned on that prior running back background by occasionally utilizing the 224-pound Young as a fullback. In Sunday's win over the Jets, Waldron used him out of the backfield on a season-high three snaps, finding different ways to deploy him at the position in the process.
On those three plays, Young twice motioned from the slot back into the backfield, lining up in an I-formation in front of fellow rookie Ken Walker III in one instance and motioning back to his right into an offset weak I-formation away from tight end Colby Parkinson on the other. Seattle twice ran toss plays with the receiver swinging his hips open and flying towards the sideline as a lead blocker, while the third play featured a peel back counter block in a DUO scheme.
While none of the three plays gained more than four yards, Young made effective blocks on all three runs by Walker and the Seahawks gained a net of 11 yards. With each play going for at least three yards, they avoided the negative run plays on early downs that have plagued the offense for the better part of two months.
Heading towards Sunday's season finale at Lumen Field, Young has proven himself more than capable of holding his own as a lead blocker out of the backfield. Even on a negative run play against the Chiefs in Week 16 that was blown up by All-Pro Chris Jones, he exhibited excellent technique and physicality lowering the boom to bully a safety at the second level on his lone snap at fullback, creating a crease Walker would have loved to have a chance to exploit.
Based on his snap distribution, it's clear Seattle values his blocking ability, as 63 of his 92 offensive snaps this year have been on run plays according to Pro Football Focus. Though that discrepancy has provided minimal opportunities for him to become a factor as a pass catcher to this point, Waldron and the offensive coaching staff have demonstrated great trust in him by moving him to a variety of different positions.
But when it comes to maximizing Young's blend of size and athletic gifts - he ran a blazing 4.44 40-yard dash and 6.88 3-cone drill at his pro day - as well as his positional versatility, the Seahawks have barely scratched the surface. Specifically, his ability to play a hybrid fullback role opens up a world of possibilities playbook-wise and creates great flexibility for Waldron, complicating matters for the defense if used properly.
Schematically, opposing coordinators likely won't want to stay in base 4-3 or 3-4 defenses when Young is in the backfield. His elite athleticism and receiving skills pitted against a bigger, slower linebacker in coverage would create a major mismatch when Seattle decides to run play action and send him out running a route as a receiver or opts to motion him back to the slot. This would be the case out of I-formation variants or split backs in shotgun where the Seahawks have used Nick Bellore at times.
But considering how well Young has performed as a lead blocker thus far and his previous history running the ball at a high level in college, subbing in nickel or dime sets may create different problems entirely. As illustrated by the previous block against the Chiefs, his physicality may be too much for smaller defensive backs to handle and in the event he does receive a handoff at some point, he won't be brought down by arm tackles if he gets to the second level.
This isn't to say the Seahawks should suddenly transition to a heavy 22 personnel team with Young playing 15 or more snaps a game at fullback as the they did when Mike Robinson paved the way for Marshawn Lynch years ago. Given the talent and depth at receiver and tight end, one back sets will remain the bread and butter of the offense.
But as Young continues to develop at receiver and works to carve out a long-term role behind DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, the rookie has all the physical tools and football acumen to be a fun chess piece for Waldron lining up all over the formation and creating legitimate concerns for opponents. After teasing the possibility with a handful of plays in recent weeks, nobody should be surprised if he catches a pass out of the backfield or even logs his first NFL carry in a must-win finale against the Rams.
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