Seahawks Position Review: Health Remains Top Concern for Running Back Group

Nearly a month after their season ended at Lambeau Field, the Seahawks have put the 2019 season in the rear view mirror and have transitioned focus to fortifying the roster for 2020.

Revisiting a successful 11-win season that culminated in advancing to the NFC Divisional Round, we’re going to look back at each of Seattle’s positional groups with player grades, top plays, and a key question that will need to be answered during the offseason.

To kick off the series, let’s analyze Seattle’s situation at running back, where the team’s top two players will be returning from serious injuries.

Overview

Overcoming chronic fumbling issues that plagued him during the first half of the season, Chris Carson set a new career high with 1,230 rushing yards and scored seven rushing touchdowns in 15 starts. As promised by offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, he also became a bigger part of Seattle’s passing game, posting career-bests in receptions (37) and receiving yards (266). After another disappointing slow start, Rashaad Penny flashed his first-round talent with 203 rushing yards and two touchdowns in Week 12 and Week 13, but he was lost for the year to a torn ACL in early December. With Carson and Penny both out for the playoffs, rookie Travis Homer performed admirably as a replacement and Marshawn Lynch did his best coming off the couch to try to help the Seahawks grounded rushing attack.

Player Grades

Chris Carson: B

Continuing to blend power and quickness to make defenders miss between the tackles, Carson ranked among league leaders in yards after contact (734) and broken tackles (28) while rushing for 75 first downs. He also made strides as a receiver and should remain a factor catching passes out of the backfield when he returns from a cracked hip. Entering the final year of his rookie deal, he’ll need to do a better job with ball security moving forward, as his seven fumbles ranked first among all NFL backs.

Rashaad Penny: C-

From Week 1 to Week 10, Penny was a relative non-factor, rushing for just 167 yards and a touchdown while Carson ate up the majority of Seattle’s backfield reps. He also missed three games during that span with a hamstring injury and has battled through multiple injuries since being picked in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Before succumbing to a torn ACL, he proved his worth with two huge games against the Eagles and Vikings, salvaging a season that otherwise can’t be viewed as anything but a failure.

C.J. Prosise: F

To put Prosise’s frustrating four seasons with the Seahawks into perspective, consider this: he dressed for more games (9) in 2020 than he did in his previous three seasons. It was the first time he was active on game day for more than half of Seattle’s regular season games, but he still couldn’t avoid injured reserve to close out the year. He also was unproductive when given a chance to play, rushing for just 72 yards on 23 carries and catching 10 passes for 76 yards out of the backfield.

Travis Homer: B+

Thrust into a starting role for the season finale after Carson and Prosise went down, Homer made the most of his opportunity, exhibiting his toughness by rushing 10 times for 62 yards and catching five passes for 30 yards in a narrow loss to the 49ers. At barely 200 pounds, he’s not built to be a feature back in the league, but his outstanding pass protection and receiving skills make him a prime candidate to be Seattle’s third down back next year and beyond.

Marshawn Lynch: B+

After not playing the first 16 weeks of the season, few knew what to expect from “Beast Mode” when he decided to unretire again for Week 17 and the playoffs. While his yards per carry numbers were abysmal, it wasn’t necessarily Lynch’s fault. He was running behind an offensive line dealing with injury issues, but he still made a substantial impact by scoring four rushing touchdowns in three games and providing a spark in the locker room.

Top Play of 2019

Chris Carson runs through and around Panthers defenders to score 16-yard touchdown.

There were several worthy play of the year candidates from Seattle’s running backs, including an explosive 58-yard touchdown by Penny that sealed a Week 12 win at Philadelphia. However, there isn’t a play that better characterizes what the Seahawks are looking for in the backfield than Carson’s exciting 16-yard score in a Week 15 win against the Panthers.

Love watching Chris Carson run. The lateral quickness to make defenders miss and get to the sideline, then the ability to punish at the goal line. pic.twitter.com/6rmujV3GLn
— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) February 5, 2020

Forced to bounce the run outside, Carson exhibited his underrated lateral quickness to make defensive back Ross Cockrell miss and bolted towards the right sideline. Emulating Lynch, he refused to be denied entry into the end zone, running through safety Tre Boston and bowling his way past the goal line for six points.

Burning Question

Will the Seahawks be aggressive adding another running back in April’s draft?

Based on updates from coach Pete Carroll, the Seahawks are confident Carson and Penny will make excellent recoveries from their respective injuries. The prognosis is especially good for Carson, who won’t need surgery to repair his hip and is expected to be 100 percent for training camp. Penny, on the other hand, faces a lengthy rehab after having knee reconstruction surgery and his status for the start of the season is uncertain.

If both players are back in action for Week 1 along with Homer, the Seahawks should have a dynamic trio of backs and there won’t necessarily be an immediate need to add at the position. But with eight picks at their disposal, that shouldn’t deter them from drafting another back from a talented class featuring several capable ball carriers who should be available on day three.

Carson will be heading towards free agency in 2021, and though he’s been very productive, Seattle may not feel inclined to give him a long-term deal because of his injury history. Penny hasn’t even rushed for 800 yards in two seasons and injuries have kept him from reaching his potential as well. He may have what it takes to be the feature back starting in 2021, but having an insurance option such as Lamical Perine or AJ Dillon waiting in the wings would be a wise move.

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