Every NFL team’s most underrated offensive weapon entering 2020

Seattle Seahawks: Travis Homer

The Seattle Seahawks had much success running the ball in 2019, ranking fourth in rushing yards per game and eighth in yards per carry. Chris Carson was the main impetus behind this output, as he managed 278 rushes for 1,230 yards and seven touchdowns in approximately 14 games. However, after he and Rashaad Penny went down, Seattle was forced to find another outlet in the running game.

Enter Travis Homer, who carved out a solid role in his time as a starter. In his first game against the vaunted San Francisco defense, he managed 18 carries for 114 yards and 11 receptions for 56 yards. He was heavily involved in the offensive gameplan and a key reason why the Seahawks were able to stay close in their divisional tilt with the 49ers.

In the playoffs, he saw less utilization as Marshawn Lynch took over a greater portion of the workload in his swan song as a Seahawk. Homer only carried the ball 14 times for 25 yards and managed three receptions for 32 yards. Nonetheless, he provided a speedy presence to the backfield in which Russell Wilson could rely upon for check-downs and screen passes.

The Seahawks tend to give a majority of the carries to one workhorse running back, but that tendency declined near season’s end, as the last full game we saw with two healthy Seattle running backs ended up in a touch split of 24 to 19 in favor of Carson over Penny. If Seattle does decide to share the workload more in 2020, Homer could be a valuable pass-catching weapon and change of pace option in the backfield.