Seattle Seahawks Need Thomas Rawls to Dominate

The Seattle Seahawks are still elite, but they now have holes across both lines. To stay on top its time for Thomas Rawls to take over.

We’re tackling each team in the league, traveling alphabetically to debate their biggest offseason issues. Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream, and debate sports.

TODD:

It took a while for the Seattle Seahawks to get going last season, and they never really hit their stride. Even a road playoff win felt like coming up short for Seattle, especially since that deterioration of the mini-dynasty it had was supposed to begin now, in 2016, not last year.

The Seahawks were the cream of the NFC crop, but the salary cap was catching up to them. They lost their depth even while retaining their stars. Looking ahead from a few years ago, it appeared that 2016 was going to be the turning point based on how many players’ contracts worked out. Instead, the core began to crumble in 2015.

Related Story: Seattle Seahawks: 5 Questions That Are Worth Asking

But with Russell Wilson and company, Seattle still won double-digit games, made the playoffs and won a round in the postseason. So maybe that was just a precursor to an actual collapse.

This March, the exodus continued. J.R. Sweezy, Brandon Mebane, Bruce Irvin and Russell Okung all left for presumably greener pastures. Throw in the retirement of Marshawn Lynch. Seattle did manage to hold onto a few of its own free agents (Jeremy Lane, Jermaine Kearse, Jon Ryan), but it didn’t have room to replace all the lost parts. This will now be two straight years of losing filler pieces on the roster while the stars were given major contracts.

I hate what the offense had become, but that was only because the Jimmy Graham trade seemed to fail. What if Graham just needed longer to get acclimated to an entirely new system and way of using him? He won’t be the big pass-catcher like he was in New Orleans, but he can make big plays when given the chance in Seattle. And that was what the offense was lacking. Thomas Rawls was great in relief of Lynch last year; he should be fine as the starter moving forward. Both he and Graham are expected to be ready to go by Week 1.

The real problem is the offensive line needs lots of help; the defensive line needs some as well. These are areas where the departure of rotation players isn’t as evident in national free-agency headlines, but it probably hurts more than losing even someone as good as Lynch.

Bad line work in the trenches is the death of any team, regardless of how talented the rest of the roster is. If the Seahawks have a productive draft later this month by filling in roles with cheap rookies, suddenly this is still one of the best teams in the NFC, but that is no easy task, even for a front office that has had as much success as Seattle’s.

DAN:

The Seahawks will be good next season, but are the 2016 Seahawks going to be a mirror image of the 2015 Green Bay Packers? The Packers were favorites in the NFC entering the year, but they lost one offensive star at receiver and the running game never got going. Aaron Rodgers and company carried what became a shell of expectations into the playoffs, but made little noise.

More from NFL Spin Zone

• Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
• Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
• Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
• Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
• Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens

Seattle exited the playoffs in the same round as Green Bay last season and has now come on hard times. Lack of depth will doom a team’s ultimate success, but the Seahawks still enter the new year as an NFC favorite. I too believe their running game will be excellent, but if it falters, or the team loses a key wide receiver, then Seattle is likely to bump and stumble into the playoffs like the Packers of a year ago.

Thomas Rawls is the key to the 2016 Seahawks offense. He rushed for over 800 yards and 4 touchdowns in relief of Lynch last year. Rawls needs to take over and create mismatches for Jimmy Graham and Russell Wilson in the passing game through play action. I’m not too worried about Seattle’s defense, despite any holes on the line. Its the offense that needs to play ball control and burn clock.

Wilson excels when he can lead the game. He’s the type of player that makes every play when the guys around him are easily counted on. Lynch was that type of player and Rawls must now lead in his place on the field. Graham’s production will follow.

A strong running back can also compensate for mediocre line play, but a dominant line will hold up that same back on their shoulders. There isn’t a ton of depth in terms of first round offensive linemen so late in the round for Seattle, but that doesn’t mean they can’t find one or two starters over the course of the draft.

More nfl spin zone: Seahawks Complete 7 Round Mock Draft

The Seahawks remain a heavy NFC favorite. They may have lost some key players, but outside of the Panthers, there isn’t another NFC team that scares me more than Seattle and Russell Wilson.