Seahawks Rookie Chris Carson in the Running Back Mix
By Ben Renner
The Seahawks chose Oklahoma State’s Chris Carson in the seventh round of NFL Draft last month to add a bit of competition and depth to their running back corps. Where will Carson fit?
The Seahawks appear set at running back for the time being. Anything can happen during the course of the season at this position (just ask the oft-injured Thomas Rawls), but it appears that through two years of drafting and free agent signing, the running back position has some depth.
In comes Chris Carson, a seventh-round flier who apparently caught the eye of the Seahawks coaching staff prior to the draft. Carson joins Eddie Lacy (who today earned $55k for weighing in under 255 pounds. I need a clause like that in my contract.), Rawls, C.J. Prosise, Alex Collins, and fan-favorite Troymaine Pope as the primary running backs on the roster. The newly-signed Mike Davis and little-used J.D. McKissic will also compete for playing time.
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The running back position faces high attrition, as we all know. This is why the NFL has largely moved toward a running back by committee approach. Last season entering the regular season with several options at running back, including 2017 rushing leader Christine Michael, the Seahawks still struggled with injuries and production running the ball. This is why they were inefficient in the red zone, and why Russell Wilson ran for his life on too many snaps (well, that’s part of the reason).
John Schneider and Pete Carroll understand the need for keeping several viable runners on-hand. Having a deep pool of running backs will be useful, especially for a team that traditionally loves to pound the rock and stay out of long down and distance situations.
Carson wowed Seahawks coaches with his physicality. Aside from a broken thumb that limited Carson to only five games as a senior for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, he proved durable and ready to absorb and deal out punishment.
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Carson took contact from defenders well and loved to bowl guys over. Adding another NFL-ready body and a known steam roller couldn’t hurt the Seahawks running back mix. He’ll have to leap over several qualified runners with NFL experience to earn a roster spot and playing time, but that doesn’t appear out of his reach entirely.