Outlook for Seahawks RBs
Chris Carson
Even after the Hyde signing, Carson is projected to be the No. 1 back for Seattle for the third consecutive season. Over the past two seasons, Carson has surpassed 1,000+ rushing yards and 20+ receptions for the Seahawks.
Just last season, Carson finished as the 12th highest-scoring running back in the NFL in fantasy football. Will he be able to repeat his performance from the last two seasons with Hyde, Penny, and possibly Dallas stealing touches from him in 2020? Without a doubt, it’s hard to envision Carson being a must-have target early in fantasy football drafts.
On the other hand, Seattle isn’t going to suddenly diminish Carson’s role with the team. Especially with their offense being centered around running the football. This past season, the Seahawks handed the ball off 481 times (third-most in the NFL). Provided that, while Hyde’s arrival provides some uneasiness around Carson, he should still be a decent RB2 target in fantasy football.
Rashaad Penny
While Carson is still someone that is worth drafting in fantasy football, Penny’s value definitely took a massive hit with the addition of Hyde. It goes without saying that decision to sign Hyde is more about Penny than Carson.
Penny, Seattle’s first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, has been unable to show much consistency in the backfield. In his first two seasons, Penny has amassed a total of 789 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.
Near the end of last season, Penny was finally showing signs of becoming a nice change-of-pace option alongside Carson. However, the second-year running back would suffer a torn ACL and would miss the rest of the 2019 season.
With that in mind, there’s a legitimate chance that Penny isn’t available in Week 1 of the 2020 season. Therefore, as of this moment, Hyde is the Seahawks running back you would want to handcuff Carson with in fantasy football — not Penny.
Other Seattle RBs
Given the fact the Seahawks used a fourth-round pick on Dallas, he will likely contribute in some sort of fashion in his rookie season. If Dallas does end up seeing an increased role as the 2020 season progresses, that negatively affects the rest of the running backs in the backfield — including Carson.
Besides Dallas, Homer also flashed some potential near the end of the 2019 season. Following his rookie season, Homer could see an increased role in Seattle’s backfield moving forward. However, Homer could also end up falling to the wayside or be given a special teams role instead.
Despite the fact that the Seahawks have Russell Wilson under center, it’s apparent that they want to continue having a run-first mentality on offense in 2020. While it’s hard to see Carson’s role significantly decline, Hyde’s addition definitely makes taking a Seahawks running back not wearing the No. 32 jersey a massive risk in fantasy football next season.