Seattle Seahawks: The argument for re-signing Mike Davis

Despite drafting Rashaad Penny in the first round last season, there are several good reasons for why the Seahawks should keep Mike Davis.

The Seattle Seahawks drafted Rashaad Penny with the 27th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Penny flashed plenty of potential in the second half of the season, but he also had his fair share of injuries and bad games. Thankfully, Seattle had Chris Carson around to serve as the team’s workhorse.

In just his second season, Carson finished with 1,151 rushing yards and clearly cemented himself as the starter. He did miss two games during the season, though, and when he wasn’t available, it was Mike Davis who got the starts.

Davis served as a third down back for Seattle early in the season, but he was forced to start in Week 4 when Carson was unavailable. In that game, Davis ran the ball 21 times for 101 yards and two touchdowns. He also started in Week 10 and rushed for 58 yards on 11 carries and caught a receiving touchdown.

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While his total yards were down, his yards per carry went from 4.8 in the first start to almost 5.3. Penny actually got the majority of the carries in Week 10 and rushed for over 100 yards.

For the whole season, Davis finished second on the Seahawks in rushing. He carried the ball 112 times for 514 yards and four touchdowns. He also had 34 receptions, 214 receiving yards, and that one receiving touchdown. That’s 728 total yards from scrimmage with an average of five yards per touch.

Even though Penny has a lot of potential, we’ve seen the Seahawks whiff on high-round picks before. I think Penny will grow into his own role by his junior season, but I’m not entirely comfortable with him as Carson’s primary backup in 2019.

I’m not trying to sell Davis as irreplaceable here, but I am saying there’s a lot of potential upside to bringing him back. Mainly, he’d be a strong security blanket for both Carson and Penny. On top of that, I thought the Seahawks had the deepest running back group in 2018. They did lead the league in rushing, after all. If Seattle plans to implement a similar game plan in 2019, then they’d be better served by having a trio of solid runners rather than just two.

The expiring contract Davis is on was a one-year deal worth $1,350,000 in total. The former fourth-round selection is about to turn 26, but he doesn’t have much mileage on his legs in the NFL.

Considering his age, breakout season, and the dip in running back talent in the 2019 draft, it seems like Davis will seek a bigger contract in free agency than the Seahawks might be willing to offer. He’s good and was a crucial part of the run game this season, but Seattle has to spend money at a lot of other positions this offseason. Because of that, Davis might be an afterthought.