Chalk Talk: Why Seattle Fits Chris Carson Perfectly

Former Oklahoma State running back Chris Carson was drafted in the 7th round by the Seattle Seahawks and finds himself in an ideal situation. Although he enters a crowded position group, no other team would be a better fit for him.

Carson fits the Seattle running back archetype — a one-cut downhill runner. If you think of the Seahawks’ past couple of backs, players like Marshawn Lynch and Thomas Rawls, they’re all hard-nosed backs who run with strength and power more than speed and finesse. Carson has built the reputation of a bruiser, and the latter half of his senior season showcased his new and improved running style and ability to truck over people.

Carson is also a good fit because the jump to Seattle’s scheme won’t be too drastic. The Seahawks utilize a downhill zone-based run scheme similar to OSU’s.

The Seahawks use both one-back and two-back zone, with lead zone being one of their favorite plays:

The Cowboys don’t use lead zone, but they frequently ran a similar play, the two-back stretch, with Carson last season:

And it’s not just the outside zone. One of the Seahawks’ favorite plays is the split zone:

They run it both under center and in the shotgun, and they use it a ton:

The Cowboys run split zone just as much:

Additionally, when the Seahawks go in shotgun, they’ll often run inside zone or zone read with the back being the inside threat and quarterback Russell Wilson the outside threat.

They frequently run this against a light box, which will allow Carson to have some open room to run through. The Cowboys also used inside zone last season, although they didn’t use it with the spread sets that the Seahawks do.

People often think too much about a player’s ability and performance in college and forget about the importance of fit. Every team is slightly different in scheme and philosophy, and oftentimes a prospect who played in a similar scheme will have an easier transition into the league.

As mentioned earlier, Carson likely won’t make an immediate impact. He enters a crowded backfield that includes Thomas Rawls, C.J. Promise and free agent pickup Eddie Lacy. But still keep an eye for Carson to make a splash for the Seahawks somewhere down the road. The fit is there, so now it’s up to him to develop and work his way up the depth chart.