Seahawks’ 7th-round RB Kenny McIntosh could have big role

May 29, 2023, 12:29 PM

Georgia RB Kenny Mcintosh participates during the NFL Combine on March 5, 2023. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

BY BRENT STECKER

Seattle Sports

The Seattle Seahawks have put a lot of focus on the running back position in the NFL Draft over the past two years.

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It began with Kenneth Walker III in the second round out of Michigan State in 2022. Then last month they targeted another standout back in the second round, this time going with Zach Charbonnet out of UCLA.

The Hawks didn’t stop there, either. In the seventh round, they picked up Kenny McIntosh from the national champion Georgia Bulldogs.

Being that Seattle picked the 6-foot, 210-pound McIntosh late, he doesn’t come to the team with nearly the same kind of expectations that Charbonnet has or that Walker had a year ago. But don’t rule him out for having a key role for the Seahawks even as a rookie. In fact, as Seattle Sports’ Brock Huard explained last week, there’s one thing about McIntosh that makes him perfectly suited to contribute on offense right away.

“I’m trying to think of a of a back that they have had that truly has been as equal a receiver as a rusher,” Huard said of the Seahawks.

The reason: McIntosh is exactly that.

As a senior for Georgia in 2022, he rushed for 829 yards and 10 touchdowns on 149 attempts, but just as important were the 505 yards and two scores he added on 43 receptions.

Even when he had a lesser role with the Bulldogs, he still contributed regularly in the passing game, totaling 356 receiving yards to 699 rushing yards in his first three college seasons.

Another set of legs for the Running Back room that competed at the highest level. 😤
@1_blueprint x @GeorgiaFootball pic.twitter.com/Nu1QSnDZoA

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) April 29, 2023

Huard, a former NFL quarterback and current FOX college football analyst, pointed out that while the Seahawks have tried in the past with running backs that were skilled as receivers (most notably C.J. Prosise), McIntosh is different from the kind of players head coach Pete Carroll’s team usually goes for in the backfield.

“McIntosh (at OTAs is) running wheel routes and different routes out of the backfield, and you just see that this guy is is adept at receiving the ball,” Huard said. “That’s not always what Pete, I think, asks of the scouting department. What he wants first and foremost is what they got in the second round the last two years, and that’s somebody that is going to gore you, someone that just has a contact level that is violent. I mean, the Marshawn Lynches of the world. What he has looked for traditionally is some of that just straight physical presence, and they’ve drafted to that.”

Huard said the Seahawks have had success drafting running backs late before, including Chris Carson, a seventh-round pick in 2017 who rushed for over 1,000 yards twice with Seattle. McIntosh stands out for a different reason than the bruising Carson did, though.

“You’re gonna be like, ‘Oh, wow.’ He makes it look really easy,” Huard said of McIntosh’s receiving skills.

Kenny content? Kenny content.#GoHawks x @1_blueprint pic.twitter.com/xrKppRFpJ6

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) May 24, 2023

“Ken Walker is capable, Charbonnet is capable (as a receiver),” Huard continued. “This guy is fluent. … He and (Kansas State star and Dallas Cowboys rookie) Deuce Vaughn were the only ones in college football with 500 (yards) rushing, 500 receiving, and it’s not one of those, ‘Oh, there’s a lot of checkdowns.’ No, no, he’s running routes and making it look easy.”

Listen to the full Blue 88 segment with Huard below. Blue 88, where Huard answers three football questions, airs at 7:45 a.m. during each edition of Brock and Salk on Seattle Sports.