The Seahawks signed Carlos Hyde yesterday, the culmination of their reported efforts to add a veteran running back (their first choice was apparently Devonta Freeman, who unwisely turned them down). Hyde puts the journey in journeyman -- Seattle is the 5th team he's been with since 2018, if you can believe that.
I'm pretty sure I've said some not-too-flattering things about Hyde in this space before, probably when he had a cup of coffee with Kansas City last preseason. I didn't think he made any sense for their offense or was a reason to worry about Damien Williams, and that prediction worked out fine. Hyde had soon moved on to Houston, and there he turned out much better than I expected -- had his first 1,000-yard rushing season, in fact. So the guy can play.
I don't think, though, that his signing is a reason to be concerned about Chris Carson, at least not as long as Carson is healthy. Hyde seems like an insurance policy and No. 2, since Rashaad Penny is expected to open on the PUP list coming off an ACL injury, and Carson himself is coming off hip surgery. If Carson isn't ready to go (or gets hurt) they'd rather put a veteran on the field than fourth-rounder DeeJay Dallas. But if Carson's fine, Hyde should be a little-used change-of-pace.
(Hyde himself is coming off shoulder surgery, but Seattle must not be worried about his availability, at least not as much as with Penny. Presumably he'll be fine for the start of the season.)
Perhaps one reason why Hyde keeps bouncing around is he doesn't bring much in the way of special traits. We know he isn't any good in the passing game, and he's not a big-play threat. And it doesn't look like he's much good in short-yardage situations, either.
Over the last three seasons, Hyde's been given the ball 49 times when a yard is needed to pick up a first down or score a touchdown. He's converted 29 of those, so 59 percent. That's better than only seven other running backs who've received at least 20 attempts over those three years. Carson is at the other end of the spectrum, ranking 6th.
| SHORT YARDAGE RUSHING, 2017-2019 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tms | Player | "Good" | Att | Pct |
| Dall. | Ezekiel Elliott | 51 | 61 | 83.6% |
| Bal-NYG | Javorius Allen | 17 | 21 | 81.0% |
| Pit-NYJ | LeVeon Bell | 22 | 28 | 78.6% |
| Ten. | Derrick Henry | 37 | 48 | 77.1% |
| N.O. | Alvin Kamara | 20 | 26 | 76.9% |
| Sea. | Chris Carson | 43 | 59 | 72.9% |
| KC-Cle | Kareem Hunt | 16 | 22 | 72.7% |
| NO-Bal | Mark Ingram | 26 | 36 | 72.2% |
| Mn-NO | Latavius Murray | 20 | 28 | 71.4% |
| Mia-Az | Kenyan Drake | 15 | 21 | 71.4% |
| Jac. | Leonard Fournette | 31 | 44 | 70.5% |
| Pitt. | James Conner | 18 | 26 | 69.2% |
| LAR | Todd Gurley | 42 | 62 | 67.7% |
| Chi-Phi | Jordan Howard | 25 | 37 | 67.6% |
| Ariz. | David Johnson | 18 | 27 | 66.7% |
| T.B. | Peyton Barber | 18 | 27 | 66.7% |
| Cin. | Joe Mixon | 29 | 44 | 65.9% |
| Car. | Christian McCaffrey | 17 | 26 | 65.4% |
| Oak-Sea | Marshawn Lynch | 17 | 26 | 65.4% |
| Buf-KC | LeSean McCoy | 15 | 23 | 65.2% |
| G.B. | Jamaal Williams | 18 | 28 | 64.3% |
| LAC | Melvin Gordon | 30 | 48 | 62.5% |
| 3 tm | Adrian Peterson | 15 | 24 | 62.5% |
| Atl. | Devonta Freeman | 17 | 28 | 60.7% |
| G.B. | Aaron Jones | 15 | 25 | 60.0% |
| 4 tm | Carlos Hyde | 29 | 49 | 59.2% |
| NYG | Saquon Barkley | 14 | 24 | 58.3% |
| N.E. | Sony Michel | 22 | 39 | 56.4% |
| Ind. | Marlon Mack | 18 | 32 | 56.3% |
| Atl-SF | Tevin Coleman | 13 | 24 | 54.2% |
| Cle. | Nick Chubb | 13 | 27 | 48.1% |
| 2 tm | LeGarrette Blount | 10 | 21 | 47.6% |
| 3 tm | Frank Gore | 14 | 30 | 46.7% |
This is not the end-all and be-all for running backs. Offensive line and playcalling is a factor, as suggested by Saquon Barkley and Nick Chubb showing up near the bottom (and Javorius Allen, of all people, up near the top). Hyde's failure in these scenarios doesn't mean he can't play.
But I'm at least comfortable enough looking at this to say that Carson has nothing to worry about as far as losing carries, near the goal line or anywhere else, to Hyde as long as he's healthy. Hyde looks like a handcuff for those who have Carson. That's about it.
--Andy Richardson