I am curious to see what kind of interest Rashaad Penny generates in free agency. He’s had problems staying healthy, but he’s also busted loose for a lot of long runs.
In each of that last two years, Penny has generated runs of 20-plus yards more often than any other running back. He had 11 such runs in only 119 attempts in 2021, when he caught fire in the final month of the season. And he produced at about the same clip last year, with 5 such runs in 57 carries, before suffering a season-ending ankle injury in Week 5.
Penny ran with similar effectiveness in 2019 before suffering a torn ACL.
In the last 10 years, only 23 running backs have carried the ball at least 50 times and generated 20-yard runs on at least 6 percent of their carries. Penny has authored three of those seasons. Nobody else has done it more than once. (And only 20 other backs in those 10 seasons have exceeded even 5 percent.)
There are injury issues to be figured out. Penny broke his fibula last October, as well as suffering a high-ankle sprain. But if he’s right physically, he should be a nice contributor somewhere. He’s only 26.
The Seahawks should have better medical information than other teams, having had Penny for the last five years. But with them also have Kenneth Walker entering his second season, they don’t have as large of a need at the position.
They combined for 3,066 receiving yards last year, the 3rd-highest total by a pair of pass catchers in the Super Bowl era. Having a 17th game helped their cause, but only five other pairs of wide receivers have combined to average more yards per game.
| BREAKING LOOSE FOR RUNS OF 20-PLUS (last 10 years) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | 20+ | Pct |
| 2021 | Rashaad Penny, Sea. | 119 | 749 | 6.3 | 6 | 11 | 9.2% |
| 2022 | Rashaad Penny, Sea. | 57 | 346 | 6.1 | 2 | 5 | 8.8% |
| 2016 | DeAndre Washington, Oak. | 87 | 467 | 5.4 | 2 | 7 | 8.0% |
| 2017 | Aaron Jones, G.B. | 81 | 448 | 5.5 | 4 | 6 | 7.4% |
| 2014 | Justin Forsett, Balt. | 235 | 1266 | 5.4 | 8 | 17 | 7.2% |
| 2015 | LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 113 | 556 | 4.9 | 3 | 8 | 7.1% |
| 2018 | Tarik Cohen, Chi. | 99 | 444 | 4.5 | 3 | 7 | 7.1% |
| 2016 | Mike Gillislee, Buff. | 101 | 577 | 5.7 | 8 | 7 | 6.9% |
| 2013 | Andre Ellington, Ariz. | 118 | 652 | 5.5 | 3 | 8 | 6.8% |
| 2013 | James Starks, G.B. | 89 | 493 | 5.5 | 3 | 6 | 6.7% |
| 2022 | James Cook, Buff. | 89 | 507 | 5.7 | 2 | 6 | 6.7% |
| 2014 | LeGarrette Blount, N.E. | 60 | 281 | 4.7 | 3 | 4 | 6.7% |
| 2019 | Chase Edmonds, Ariz. | 60 | 303 | 5.1 | 4 | 4 | 6.7% |
| 2018 | Matt Breida, S.F. | 153 | 814 | 5.3 | 3 | 10 | 6.5% |
| 2016 | Ty Montgomery, G.B. | 77 | 457 | 5.9 | 3 | 5 | 6.5% |
| 2017 | Marlon Mack, Ind. | 93 | 358 | 3.8 | 3 | 6 | 6.5% |
| 2013 | Kendall Hunter, S.F. | 78 | 358 | 4.6 | 3 | 5 | 6.4% |
| 2020 | Nick Chubb, Cle. | 190 | 1067 | 5.6 | 12 | 12 | 6.3% |
| 2019 | Rashaad Penny, Sea. | 65 | 370 | 5.7 | 3 | 4 | 6.2% |
| 2018 | Saquon Barkley, NYG | 261 | 1307 | 5.0 | 11 | 16 | 6.1% |
| 2016 | Jalen Richard, Oak. | 83 | 491 | 5.9 | 1 | 5 | 6.0% |
| 2018 | Damien Williams, K.C. | 50 | 256 | 5.1 | 4 | 3 | 6.0% |
| 2020 | J.K. Dobbins, Balt. | 134 | 805 | 6.0 | 9 | 8 | 6.0% |
—Ian Allan