Dale Zanine – USA TODAY Sports
The Seattle Seahawks have been one of the best teams in the NFL for the last few seasons and have the potential to become a dynasty. However, one concern for their team is the potential lack of depth in the running game that has plagued the team this year. With both Marshawn Lynch and Thomas Rawls hurt, the Seahawks have struggled to run the ball, and there is an easy way for them to solve that problem this offseason.
The team is going to be picking late in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft as a result of their playoff berth, but they will still be in position to pick one of the most talented running backs in this class. Derrick Henry, the Heisman Trophy winner out of Alabama, is probably going to be available with their pick, and the Seahawks should jump at the chance to select him.
Henry has been an absolute force for the Crimson Tide, and he has run for 1,986 yards (best in FBS) and 23 touchdowns this season. Henry has been able to rip off huge chunks of yardage against every defense, and he truly is looking like a workhorse back at the next level.
Henry’s physical, hard-nosed running style would be an excellent fit with the Seahawks, who prefer those types of runners. Both Lynch and Rawls run with physicality, so it would be easy to incorporate Henry into the running system. It’s also likely that Lynch will call it quits after this season, so Henry could replace him and make a terrific one-two punch with Rawls that could lead the team’s offense for the better part of a decade.
The one concern with Henry coming out of school is the fact that he has a lot of wear on his tires. Henry has run the ball an absurd 339 times this season, which was the most in college football. However, Seattle could try to keep him fresh early in his career by giving him less carries than Rawls. That would ensure that Henry wouldn’t get burned out too early at the NFL level.
At the end of the day, it would make a lot of sense for the Seahawks to select Henry in the draft. The team doesn’t have too many needs outside of the offensive line and depth, so taking a dynamic player like Henry could have a big impact on their team. If he’s available at their pick, I would be surprised if the Seahawks didn’t pull the trigger on the factor back.
Jacob Camenker is an NFL Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. You can like him on Facebook here, follow him on Twitter @jacobyhorse, or add him to your network on Google.
