Ranking every Seahawks draft pick by how much he’ll help Establish The Run

Pete Carroll’s Seahawks have long been direct about their desire to Establish The Run.

It started Week 1, after the Seahawks lost to the Broncos by three points despite staying close for the entire game. “Not enough [rushing],” Pete Carroll told reporters.

Wait, no — it started after the draft, where the Seahawks took running back Rashaad Penny with the 27th overall pick. “We wanted to make sure we’re at the core of who we want to be, and the running game is a lot of that,” Carroll said in a post-draft press conference.

Or maybe it started in 1994, when Carroll was the head coach of the New York Jets. “Carroll believes that in order for the Jets to be successful, they have to establish their running game,” wrote Jason Diamos in the New York Times.

How dedicated are the Seahawks to Establishing The Run?

In 2018, they were the NFL’s most devoted team to rush-rush-pass play sequences, despite evidence that such a pattern makes it harder to move the ball. The Seahawks were second in the NFL in rushing attempts and dead last in passing attempts, despite their quarterback being Russell Wilson, whom they’ve since given the richest contract in football history. This happened in their playoff game:

Let’s rank these rookies by helpful they’ll be to the cause of The Run.

How do you stop the clock on defense, thus giving your offense more time to Establish The Run? You cause incomplete passes. Burr-Kirven will indeed help Establish The Run more than Barton will, based on their college stats.

Jennings was one of the most efficient receivers in the draft. But the Mountaineers often set him up as a pass option on RPOs, where the QB could decide not to hand the ball off. It is concerning that the Seahawks would pick a player who might encourage Wilson to throw the ball rather than Establish The Run.

They’re both defensive backs, and the incompletions they cause will make them invaluable to the cause of giving Wilson time to hand off in an offense that Establishes The Run.

If Collier does what the Seahawks want, he’ll be getting sacks. Those will help the Hawks’ offense get back onto the field, where it can aggressively Establish The Run.

He’s been one of the most prolific slot receivers in college football. He can keep nickel corners and outside linebackers from moving too close to the interior, freeing up important space for Seattle’s backs to Establish The Run. Is it possible he’ll incentivize too much passing? Maybe some day, but at this point, he’s a 5’10 seventh-round pick, so Wilson won’t throw him the ball so much that he detracts greatly from Establishing The Run.

He’s 6’3 and 294 pounds, but he can move for a big man, with a 5.08 40 time. He’d fit nicely as a fullback in jumbo packages, ideal for Establishment of The Run.

A guy who could man the same position Steve Hutchinson once played in Seattle, this road-grading interior lineman will be vital to Establishing The Run.

There are few people more important to the postal service than the mailman himself, and Homer is no stranger to carrying the mail. He’ll join a crowded backfield, but in due time, it wouldn’t be surprising if Homer became key to Establishing The Run.

What’s the ultimate point of all this Establishing The Run, according to the ancient cliche? The point is To Set Up The Pass. Therefore, Metcalf is an entire reason to Establish The Run. With a perfectly sculpted 6’3 frame and 4.33 speed, he was the scariest deep threat in the draft. But you don’t want to throw to Metcalf too often, because he’s really not that good at anything except deep routes, meaning you’ll then have to Re-Establish The Run.