It's 4 am, analytics crew is asleep so imma let y'all in on a lil secret:

The Seahawks running game only works if they have a really talented RB that runs with power and can break a lot of tackles to make up for the lack of good Oline and good run scheme.

A thread:

I clear out that I'm not saying analytics are wrong in stating that RB's are the most replaceable position in football.

I actually agree with that statement, but in order for it to be true, you need to have a good run scheme from a modern offense.
And we all know how Pete works.

Let's start with simple facts:

There has never been a Seahawks RB in the Pete Carroll era, not named Marshawn Lynch or Chris Carson to reach 1000 yards. But I guess that's understandable right? They have been the RB1 for the team in 7 of 10 years.

How did we do the other years?

Well next closest is Thomas Rawls who stepped up for an injured Marshawn Lynch in 2015.

He had 830 yards with 5.6 Y/A

That is REALLY good, but we must put it into context. Rawls was a very violent runner who got a lot of yards after contact. Even Lynch told him to be careful.

So he gets inevitably injured with his style of running at the end of the 2015 and his season is cut short.

In 2016 he’s being hyped up as the heir of the now retired Lynch but he gets injured again in week 2 he comes back but he finishes the season with 349 yards and 3.2 Y/A

So without the power to break tackles or truck defenders Rawls lost his amazing Y/A. Bah maybe he’s just injured somebody stepped up right?

Nope. The next guy with most rushing yards in 2016 is Russell Wilson with 259.

So 2017 rolls around we no longer have a running back who can truck defenders and break up tackles, of course what happens? Russell Wilson is the team’s rushing leader with 586 yards.
Next closest is Mike Davis with 240.

So 2018 comes and Pete Carroll finally remembered how to have a run game again!
It also coincidentally matches with Chris Carson emerging as the team’s RB.
Let’s compare the numbers of the first two games of when Penny was the RB1 to when Carson became the RB1 the next game.

Look this is not Penny’s fault, he is s good RB, he was a great prospect coming out of college, but he was not used to his Oline being bad. He became a better RB for the style the Seahawks needed in 2019.

But we still don’t know if he could make the run game work by himself.

So 2019 is all good, Carson is healthy, trucking everybody, Penny is a great compliment back but when week 17 comes around with the playoffs about to start and both Carson and Penny injured, Seahawks call an old friend in Marshawn but without his juice he can’t make it work.

So in the 3 games the Seahawks played without their power back Chris Carson, Russell Wilson was his own leading rusher, again.

In conclusion the Seahawks running game depends on the running back breaking tackles and trucking defenders, it doesn’t work if it’s not a power/really talented back. That’s why Alex Collins had a 900 yard season with the Ravens and why Eddie Lacy was OROY with the Packers.

Since we can’t just plug and play any RB like many can and we actually need a special talent for our running game to work.
I lowkey hope we draft a running back fairly high I’m sorry but I don’t wanna miss on a RB pick and have our season depend of Carson’s health again.