San Francisco 49ers: Stacking up the running backs against the NFC West
By Kevin Saito
Seattle Seahawks
Key Contributors: Rashaad Penny, Chris Carson, Mike Davis, C.J. Prosise
Truth be told, the Seahawks haven’t fielded a good running game since Marshawn Lynch blew town.
After Lynch was injured in 2015 – and then retired in 2016 – the Seahawks have struggled to fill the void in the running game. Oer the past two seasons, they’ve cycled through a laundry names like Thomas Rawls, Christine Michael, Fred Jackson, Bryce Brown, C.J. Spiller, Alex Collins, C.J. Prosise, J.D. McKissic, Chris Carson, and Eddie Lacy.
More from San Francisco 49ers
- 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
- 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
- 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve
- 49ers sign TE Daniel Helm off the Buccaneers practice squad
- 49ers: Jordan Reed could miss up to two months, will be placed on IR
And none of them have proven to be a solution. In a few cases, some of them have even proven to be a bigger problem than anything.
This year though, they’re hoping things are going to turn around. The lack of a decent running game – it ranked twenty-fifth in 2016, and twenty-third last season. They return Davis, Carson, and Prosise, but they were so motivated to get some help in their backfield, they spent a first-round pick (twenty-seventh overall) on San Diego State’s Rashaad Penny.
Penny put up some eye-popping stats with the Aztecs, no question. And at five-foot-eleven, 220 pounds, Penny is built in that Lynch, Beast Mode mold. He’s an active runner with short, quick strides, and it takes more than an arm tackle to bring him down.
It was somewhat surprising to see Seattle spend a first-round pick to get him, since most scouts had him pegged as a solid second-rounder, possibly even a high third.
Next: Stacking Up The WR Groups In The NFC West
But, he’s a quality prospect and Seattle is in such dire straits when it comes to their backfield, it was a match that made sense. Clearly, quarterback Russell Wilson hasn’t been the same without a quality backfield, which made trying to piece one together that much more of a priority for HC Pete Carroll and GM John Schneider.
There are some definite weaknesses to Penny’s game that could be exploited at the pro level. It’s a wait and see game to see if the investment of such a high pick pays off. Until it does, Seattle will continue to founder in the run game.