The Seahawks used their first-round pick on Rashaad Penny, who ran for 2,248 yards last year at San Diego State, and the assumption is he’ll start and be their bell-cow back. Reasonable enough. But will that actually happen?
What’s intended in June and what ends up happening during the season are often two different things, and the Seahawks have some other backs.
So it was with interest that I read Bob Condotta’s Seahawks notebook in today’s edition of the Seattle Times.
Chris Carson, Condotta notes, is in tip-top shape.
Asked to name a few players who have stood out from a physical conditioning standpoint, Carroll began with Carson saying “he hasn’t missed one snap of anything. He’s just looked so fit and just so cut and quick and explosive and all of that. He’s the guy that just stood out in that regard.”
Condotta posted a separate article on Carson (who’s pictured) suggesting the second-year back has been training hard in the offseason, including re-working his diet with the aide of a trainer. He was listed at 218 pounds last year but is 226-227 now. It would not be a surprise at all, I think, if Carson beats out Penny.
C.J. Prosise has been hurt for most of the last two years, but I’m not ready to write him off. I keep remember those two starts back in 2016, when he went for 153 combined yards to key a win in Foxborough (that included 7 catches for 87 yards) then scored on a 72-yard run the next week against the Eagles.
Writes Condotaa:
Prosise has been healthy this offseason, on the field for everything during the OTAs open to the media and Carroll also volunteered his name Thursday saying “C.J. has really jumped out, too. He’s looked good now. He knows he’s battling (for a roster spot).”
While Prosise has been injury prone in the past, that won’t necessarily happen again. He’s a big guy; they’ve got him listed at 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds.
To me, Prosise looks like a guy who should be selected in the last round. I would guess that in most leagues, there will be some other player I like more who isn’t selected. But I expect in most drafts, there will be some running backs I don’t like as much chosen in those final few rounds.
None of this is new. I’ve been pondering these guys since the Seahawks drafted Penny back in April. And Pom-Pom Pete tends to talk up everyone in the offseason. But as I look at the rookie running backs, I have a lot more confidence that Derrius Guice and Ronald Jones will be starting as rookies.
For running backs chosen late in the first round, the track record isn’t particularly good. In this century, 20 have been chosen in the first round but not with top-20 picks. Of those 20, two have put up great numbers as rookies (Chris Johnson and Doug Martin). Three other have at least gone over 1,000 combined yards.
| RUNNING BACKS; LATE FIRST-ROUNDERS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Run | Rec | Total | TD |
| 2000 | Trung Canidate, St.L. | 6 | 4 | 10 | 0 |
| 2001 | Michael Bennett, Minn. | 682 | 226 | 908 | 3 |
| 2001 | Deuce McAllister, N.O. | 91 | 166 | 257 | 2 |
| 2003 | Larry Johnson, K.C. | 85 | 2 | 87 | 1 |
| 2003 | Willis McGahee, Buff. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | • Kevin Jones, Det. | 1133 | 180 | 1313 | 6 |
| 2004 | Steven Jackson, St.L. | 673 | 189 | 862 | 4 |
| 2004 | Chris Perry, Cin. | 1 | 33 | 34 | 0 |
| 2006 | • Joseph Addai, Ind. | 1081 | 325 | 1406 | 8 |
| 2006 | Laurence Maroney, N.E. | 745 | 194 | 939 | 7 |
| 2006 | DeAngelo Williams, Car. | 501 | 313 | 814 | 2 |
| 2008 | • Chris Johnson, Tenn. | 1228 | 260 | 1488 | 10 |
| 2008 | Felix Jones, Dall. | 266 | 10 | 276 | 4 |
| 2008 | Rashard Mendenhall, Pitt. | 58 | 17 | 75 | 0 |
| 2009 | Beanie Wells, Ariz. | 793 | 143 | 936 | 7 |
| 2009 | Donald Brown, Ind. | 281 | 169 | 450 | 3 |
| 2010 | • Jahvid Best, Det. | 555 | 487 | 1032 | 6 |
| 2011 | Mark Ingram, N.O. | 474 | 46 | 520 | 5 |
| 2012 | • Doug Martin, T.B. | 1454 | 472 | 1926 | 12 |
| 2012 | David Wilson, NYG | 358 | 34 | 392 | 5 |
| 2018 | Rashaad Penny, Sea. | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 2018 | Sony Michel, N.E. | ? | ? | ? | ? |
—Ian Allan