Seahawks Player Profile: Thomas Rawls
By Ben Renner
Thomas Rawls, another diamond-in-the-rough find by John Schneider, filled in for the injured Marshawn Lynch and led the league in yards per carry last year. What’s next for the young running back?
Thomas Rawls came to the Seahawks as an afterthought last season. The undrafted rookie played earned a roster spot, and when incumbent running back Marshawn Lynch had to have hernia surgery, Rawls came in and played extremely well. His 5.6 yards per carry led all qualified rushers in the NFL in 2015.
It looked like the Seahawks offense wouldn’t skip a beat with Lynch out for an extended period. In this case, Pete Carroll’s next man up was the right man for the job. Then Thomas Rawls broke his leg against the Baltimore Ravens and the Seahawks’ rushing attack was once again thrown into limbo with a motley crew of cast-offs and players signed out of their street clothes filling in until Lynch returned.
Thankfully Russell Wilson played the best football of his life and guided the Seahawks to the playoffs without the newly emerged Thomas Rawls.
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In the end, we’re left with more questions than answers concerning Thomas Rawls. His domination of the league hasn’t been forgotten, but memories of him tearing through the line of scrimmage and into the secondary are foggy at best. We also don’t know how he will recover from his broken leg last season. Carroll, to his credit, thinks that Rawls will be healthy by Week One, same as Jimmy Graham, who is also coming off of a serious leg injury.
We simply won’t know if Thomas Rawls will have the same burst through the hole as he did last season until we see him in game action.
Another concern for Thomas Rawls is the competition the Seahawks’ front office decided to test him with this offseason. The Seahawks drafted a trio of running backs supposedly to back up Rawls. This could be the result of the Seahawks running out of backs last season after losing Lynch–Schneider has been reactionary in his personnel decisions in the past (see Graham, Jimmy after the infamous Super Bowl 49 play)–or it could signal a lack of confidence in Rawls’ recovery.
Thomas Rawls will be the default starter until he is supplanted by one of the rookies. If his leg is fully healed, he could be a top-five rusher this season for the Seahawks.
Next: Player Profile: Zac Brooks
If he loses a step or two, Alex Collins, C.J. Prosise, or even Zac Brooks could outperform him. This running back position battle will be one to watch in Seahawks camp as we get closer to Week One.