Seattle Seahawks: Where will run game rank in the NFC West?

After drafting running back Rashaad Penny in the first round, the Seattle Seahawks run game will still be outmatched by their top divisional rivals.

Let’s be honest, Russell Wilson and the passing game have been carrying the Seattle Seahawks offense since Marshawn Lynch retired, before eventually un-retiring. Wilson led the Seahawks in rushing in 2017 with 586 yards. The closest running back on the team to that total was Mike Davis at just 240 yards. Throughout the year, the team used five different starting running backs, of which Davis had the most starts with six.

To try and fix their fluctuating running game, the Seahawks drafted running back Rashaad Penny in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Penny wasn’t the best back left on most people’s draft boards and was the most surprising pick in the round, but he’s definitely an upgrade over last year’s various starters. Even so, that doesn’t mean the rookie and the Seahawks will be able to keep pace with the other dynamic running games in the NFC West.

First off, there’s the 2017 division champion, the Los Angeles Rams, who finished eighth in total rushing yards last season. Running back Todd Gurley won Offensive Player of the Year and, with 1,305 rushing yards, ran for just 324 fewer yards than the entire Seahawks team, who finished 23rd in total rushing yards. Gurley also led the league in yards from scrimmage and combined rushing and receiving touchdowns.

Then the Seahawks will have to compete with the Arizona Cardinals‘ David Johnson, who missed most of last year. Back in 2016, Johnson ran for 1,239 yards and, like Gurley, led the league in yards from scrimmage and combined rushing and receiving touchdowns. The Cardinals finished 30th in the league in rushing without Johnson in 2017, but finished 18th the previous season.

The team the Seahawks have the best chance to outrun is the up-and-coming San Francisco 49ers. The team’s starting running back is Jerick McKinnon, who they acquired in the offseason because of the departure of Carlos Hyde, and there isn’t exactly a host of of good players behind him on the depth chart.

The second best back on the team is Matt Breida, who ran for 465 yards last season. In 2017 the 49ers finished twenty-first in total rushing yards, just 33 yards ahead of Seattle. McKinnon is coming off the best year of his career, where he rushed for 570 yards.

In his final year at San Diego State, in the Mountain West Conference, Penny ran for over 2,200 yards and exactly 23 touchdowns. Those numbers won’t translate over to the NFL, obviously, and Penny will likely face bigger and better defenders than he ever has before in his life.

Next: NFL 2018: Ranking the 50 best pass rushers

If he finds himself struggling, the Seahawks still have experienced running backs like Chris Carson, C.J. Prosise, and Davis to back him up. And while Penny seems to have the versatility and skill set to make an impact at the pro level, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The Seahawks run game will, at best, be the third most dangerous in their division.