If Chris Carson walks, the Seahawks can use more Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas. (Getty)
The Seahawks officially hired Shane Waldron and Andy Dickerson as offensive coordinator and racing game coordinator, respectively, and now a big question is what will happen to the Seattle backfield in 2021.
Bumpus: Hawks adding two Rams coaches is moving in the right direction
The Seahawks ran more with the ball in the second half of the 2020 season, after exposing more football in the first eight games, but still finished 17th in running attempts and 12th in running yards.
Now, the Seahawks enter the off-season without a clear advantage, as Chris Carson, Seattle’s biggest rusher for the past two seasons, is hitting an unrestricted free agency.
Former NFL quarterback Jake Heaps Jake and Stacy of 710 ESPN Seattle were previously optimistic about Seattle’s chances of bringing Carson back next season, but he is not so confident anymore.
“We will see if they can achieve a miracle, but I very, very much doubt it,” said Heaps on Friday.
If Carson does not return to Seattle and the Seahawks do not sign a proven leadership, this could cause the team to take a running back by committee approach. Seattle currently has three running backs in the cast in the first round of 2018, Rashaad Penny, 2020 rookie DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer, who will be a third-year professional. But in 2020, these three combined for just 70 runs for 230 yards.
If the Seahawks go on with a committee approach with those three or another back in the mix, Heaps thinks Seattle should still be able to run the ball effectively due to the signings of Waldron and Dickerson.
“The only thing that gives me tremendous confidence is that if you look only at last year and what the Rams were able to do, they had an average of three guys over 4 meters away,” he said.
The leading Rams rusher in 2020 was newcomer Cam Akers, who finished with 625 yards and 4.3 yards per load. Second-year side Darrell Henderson had 624 yards at 4.5 yards per transport, while veteran Malcom Brown ran 419 yards at 4.1 yards per transport.
“It tells me it’s the system,” said Heaps. “The system is good, and you can not only plug and play, but you can find a way to get all three of those back loads and opportunities to succeed.”
Heaps said quarterback Russell Wilson, who was Seattle’s second best rusher in 2020 with 513 yards, could also help in the Seahawks’ racing game just by fighting. With Wilson and some solid running backs, Heaps thinks the Seahawks and new coaches on the attack should be able to succeed on the ground next season.
“I think Shane Waldron and this group can now take an effective running back approach by committee, and they (probably) will have to do that,” he said.
You can listen to Heaps’ full comments on the Four-Down Territory segment on the podcast at this link or the player below.
Follow Brandon Gustafson on Twitter.
Huard: Seahawks picking up Russell Wilson’s guy at OC in Shane Waldron