Is Rashaad Penny Finally Blooming Late For The Seattle Seahawks?

Seattle Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny might be finding his groove late in his fourth season with the team.

The Seattle Seahawks received plenty of grief from the NFL Draft world after selecting Rashaad Penny in the first round back in 2018. The running back position isn’t one to spend an early pick on unless you see a future superstar, and the Seahawks picking Penny was 1) odd and 2) quite a reach from the consensus grading on Penny.

It’s been tough sledding for Penny so far. He’s faced a timeshare with Chris Carson among others in his four seasons, and he’s dealt with injuries as well. Penny played in just 10 games in 2019, three games in 2020, and now eight games of a possible 15 so far in 2021. Over that span, he’s failed to reach the 500-yard mark in any season. In his first 32 games, Penny had just a hair over 900 career yards. Now, he’s heating up for Seattle, eclipsing 300 yards in his last three games.

Two of those games for Penny saw him go over 130 yards, and between those games, he averaged over eight yards per carry. The combination of burst and contact balance is something that’s aided his productivity in this stretch.

In a world where immediate results are of great important to us, the NFL is no different. Fans love to see draft picks produce immediately in their rookie season, or declare them as busts. The lack of patience is why we get surprised about late bloomers.

Now, is Rashaad Penny guaranteed to be a late bloomer? It’s hard to say. His big games have come against the Texans and Bears. It is good to see him competing hard on a team that’s going to miss the playoffs, and it’s at a good time considering he’s set to become a free agent after the season. Maybe his traits and promise he showed will land him in a place that gives him a chance to be a feature back, because it’s unlikely he gets that with the Seattle Seahawks if he returns. Let’s see what the last couple games show.