Pick #27 Rashaad Penny RB

[naholmes]

I am definitely questioning the strategy of going RB in round 1. Last year Kamara was taken at 67 and Hunt was taken at 86 so after trading back I thought they could use that 3rd rounder to still get a top flight RB. After making Penny just the 2nd RB off the board my initial reaction was reach but then Michel went right after. If there’s a run on RBs early in round 2 then it means the pick is good value and show that teams are valuing RBs higher. However, if we still see players like Chubb or Ballage on the board at 76 then we might be regretting going there in round 1.

Ignoring value they did get a really good player. I believe Penny to be best fit for the Seahawks because he does not stellar blocking to succeed. His stats for yards after contact and broken tackles prove that out.

 

[Ilinoiseyhawk]

It was too early for an RB and if we were going to take one, I'd rather have had Guise (or my favorite RB, RoJo) than Penny.
I was happy that JS traded back (per usual) but was expecting OL like a James Daniels/Will Hernandez. The gap between the tiers of O-linemen is much wider than the tiers of RBs.

I'm still excited about him being a 'Hawk, though! He's going to be a really good, versatile back for us.

 

[vin.couve12]

Alright, dude...

[youtube]dtt-qMVr_A4[/youtube]

 

[vin.couve12]

Blah blah blah small school blurgedy blurgedy. Put in Bobby Wagner's tape against Auburn and you see him dominate SEC OL and be faster than everyone to the punch.

 

[chris98251]

Watch closely, when he is going to be making contact he has a shoulder dip he will pop back up if the defender bites and he cuts around him, he also has a nice slide step left and or right, and that shake and bake move running at full speed with a slight shoulder dip move, pumps his legs with high knee pump going thru traffic, all subtle stuff you may miss first look, he can also cut left or right with a solid plant and go. He appears to read well and see's the hole from a distance and runs to daylight.

I liked him before like him more now, originally I thought 3rd or 4th round, but I can see why we took him now and why other teams want him as well.

 

[hawknation2018]

Can you remember a big back in the NFL with such skinny thigh muscles? That might explain the quick, choppy steps.

 

[vin.couve12]

One of those tackles was Justin Reid after dude broke the first tackle. Need to get Reid after the trade.

 

[Fade]

I was a Hernandez guy myself, but if they were going to take a runningback in the 1st I wanted it to be Penny.

We all knew Pete was going to want a runningback in the 1st after watching the clown car show that has been the Seahawks running game for 2 seasons.

Just be happy they took the right one. He checks all of the boxes.

Size, Speed, Vision, Elusive, Durable, Hardworker, Humble, Run after Contact, Run after Catch.

Pass Pro is all he really needs to work on.

Beast.

Those concerned with the competition he has faced. He ripped it up against ASU & Stanford. Then killed it at the Senior Bowl all week.

Please save the bitching for when they pick bad players.

 

[vin.couve12]

Can you remember a big back in the NFL with such skinny thigh muscles? That might explain the quick, choppy steps.

Ah, there it is. Guess I don't blame you. Always had some trunks myself as a RB. Yes, though, I remember Harvin having similar legs, to answer your question. Harvin wasn't a big back, but dude is a bigger version.

 

[hawknation2018]

Please save the bitching for when they pick bad players.

Time will tell. If I thought Penny was one of the Top 4 running backs in this class (like you do), I wouldn't have as much of a problem with the pick.

 

[kf3339]

I was a Hernandez guy myself, but if they were going to take a runningback in the 1st I wanted it to be Penny.

We all knew Pete was going to want a runningback in the 1st after watching the clown car show that has been the Seahawks running game for 2 seasons.

Just be happy they took the right one. He checks all of the boxes.

Size, Speed, Vision, Elusive, Durable, Hardworker, Humble, Run after Contact, Run after Catch.

Pass Pro is all he really needs to work on.

Beast.

Those concerned with the competition he has faced. He ripped it up against ASU & Stanford. Then killed it at the Senior Bowl all week.

Please save the bitching for when they pick bad players.

I was also high on Hernandez if only because few RB's can or will look good until our O-Line issue is fixed for good. But that being said I don't dislike the pick as we all know an RB was needed. Hope it works out well for us.

 

[Maulbert]

It was mentioend earlier, but here's a great visual on Penny vs Barkley RAC, and a great article on Penny in general.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/draft-san-diego-state-rb-rashaad-penny-a-first-round-talent

Barkley is over 230-pounds and all too often runs with the express purpose of avoiding contact. 230-pound backs don’t need to fear contact the way those that barely tip the scales at over 200 do. The key stat that highlights this is that on runs when contacted at or behind the line of scrimmage last season, Barkley averaged fewer than half a yard per carry, which ranked 57th of 58 qualifying backs in this draft class. Penny by contrast averaged 3.32 yards per carry, which led the draft class.

Penny had 31 runs of 15 or more yards last season to – again – lead the draft class. He gained over 1,000 rushing yards on these explosive runs alone, almost 300 more than any other runner, and while again it’s true that this is influenced by the sheer volume of carries he had, his breakaway percentage was good enough for third in the class (54.5 percent), just behind Barkley (55.6 percent).

Penny didn't play in the Big 10. He played for San Diego St. I don't doubt his talent but he is really going to have to prove himself in the pros. Like I said in another post, if all of the Seahawks RBs are healthy and he wins the starting position or the most carries and yards, I will shut my mouth without any problems.

Fun fact: San Diego St. has more running backs in the NFL's top 25 rushers of all time (1, Marshall Faulk) than the entire Big Ten (0). You can look it up if you don't believe me. Big Ten backs are massively overrated.

 

[chris98251]

It was mentioend earlier, but here's a great visual on Penny vs Barkley RAC, and a great article on Penny in general.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/draft-san-diego-state-rb-rashaad-penny-a-first-round-talent

Barkley is over 230-pounds and all too often runs with the express purpose of avoiding contact. 230-pound backs don’t need to fear contact the way those that barely tip the scales at over 200 do. The key stat that highlights this is that on runs when contacted at or behind the line of scrimmage last season, Barkley averaged fewer than half a yard per carry, which ranked 57th of 58 qualifying backs in this draft class. Penny by contrast averaged 3.32 yards per carry, which led the draft class.

Penny had 31 runs of 15 or more yards last season to – again – lead the draft class. He gained over 1,000 rushing yards on these explosive runs alone, almost 300 more than any other runner, and while again it’s true that this is influenced by the sheer volume of carries he had, his breakaway percentage was good enough for third in the class (54.5 percent), just behind Barkley (55.6 percent).

Penny didn't play in the Big 10. He played for San Diego St. I don't doubt his talent but he is really going to have to prove himself in the pros. Like I said in another post, if all of the Seahawks RBs are healthy and he wins the starting position or the most carries and yards, I will shut my mouth without any problems.

Fun fact: San Diego St. has more running backs in the NFL's top 25 rushers of all time (1, Marshall Faulk) than the entire Big Ten (0). You can look it up if you don't believe me. Big Ten backs are massively overrated.

Partially because they have 5 star guys opening holes for them and backs are going to look a lot better then they would on a more equal playing field.

 

[Fade]

I was reading a scouting report on Barkley. I can't remember where? Anyway, my eyebrows raised when it said he was a 230lb back who shy ed away from contact. Some of these advanced metrics kind of prove that right. Interesting.

 

[original poster]

Must say my jaw hit the floor when it said ‘pick is in’ then it dropped even further when they called his name out.

Excited to see how he does! The run game has got no excuses now. I’m just glad it wasn’t Kalen Ballage.

 

[Danny Darko]

Does this pick jive with any of Pete's draft clues?

 

[Northwest Seahawk]

And what O-Line is going to block for him?

Should have went Hernandez for LG. Just saying

Ok but we need play makers on offense to aren't you concerned about Carson I mean he's already blown out his knee. Just sayin.

 

[xgeoff]

I just hope he can break the tackle of whatever defender happens to be beating Ifedi on any given play...

 

[Beren]

Exceeded my expectations in so far as I didn't think we'd pick in the first round at all.

The analytics guys will dump on getting a RB in the first round, and if I'm honest, I'd have rather we improved the D-Line instead but if they weren't high on any of the remaining guys but they did like this guy... well, good on them for going with their vision.

In terms of going for him now, think it's quite possible he wouldn't have been there come round 3 or 4. Equally, maybe they are high on defensive players who are much lower down the consensus boards. They do like players with a ship on their shoulder sometimes!

 

[hawknation2018]

I just hope he can break the tackle of whatever defender happens to be beating Ifedi on any given play...

Which is why they should have drafted Connor Williams, so Ifedi could move back inside, where he is more natural.