What Bump wants to see from Seahawks’ DeeJay Dallas

Jul 24, 2023, 12:34 PM

Seattle Seahawks RB DeeJay Dallas reacts on during a game against the Rams on Jan. 8, 2023. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

BY BRENT STECKER

Seattle Sports

The Seattle Seahawks are building up some impressive depth at running back.

Seahawks Training Camp: What to expect from the top two rookies

Leading the charge is Kenneth Walker III, a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft who finished 12th in the league in rushing last season with 1,050 yards and was a finalist for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Joining him this season is another second-round pick – Zach Charbonnet, who Seattle drafted out of UCLA in April. And there’s another intriguing rookie in Kenny McIntosh, a pass-catching back the Seahawks selected in the seventh round out of Georgia.

Those three names may seem like enough, but Michael Bumpus of Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy has a message about the position.

“I’m looking at DeeJay Dallas and I just don’t want people to forget about 31,” said the former Seahawks wide receiver.

.@DallasDeejay got 𝙐𝙋 for the touch𝘿𝙊𝙒𝙉

📺: #SEAvsPIT on @KING5Seattle pic.twitter.com/bOnRGtBxgz

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) August 14, 2022

Dallas is entering his fourth season with the Seahawks, but he’s not exactly the old man in the room – the 2020 fourth-round pick will turn just 25 in September.

So why is Bumpus shouting him out right now?

“I rock with my dude DeeJay Dallas,” Bumpus said. “Every single preseason he goes out there and he performs, but for some reason he doesn’t find himself getting on the field a lot (during the regular season).”

A lot has been made this offseason about what the Seahawks can do in the passing game with their players coming out of the backfield, and Dallas figures to be key in that. After all, he has nearly as many receiving yards (370 on 55 receptions) in his career as he does rushing yards (432 on 102 carries). Bumpus thinks there’s another way for Dallas to make an impact in 2023, though, and it’s on special teams.

“I think that he is going to be good when it comes to the pass game at the running back spot,” Bumpus said of Dallas. “… But with DeeJay, he needs to be the return guy. It’s him or (wide receicer) Dee Eskridge. He needs to be on the kickoff return, he has to be on the punt return – some way, he needs to get his hands on the football. I feel like he’s not a lightning type of player but he has a good feel for the game. He’s not going to snatch your ankles in a way that makes you scream and say ‘ooh,’ but he can make you miss. He’s not going to run by you, but he understands angles.”

Bumpus, who now is an analyst on the Pac-12 Network and host of the Seahawks Radio Network pregame, halftime and postgame shows, thinks the Hawks have hung on to Dallas for a reason like this.

“I look at DeeJay Dallas and I go, ‘There’s a reason why they keep this young man around.’ They trust him. He balls out in the preseason and he brings value. He also runs down on kick returns and punt cover team and tackles, too. … Yes, you have a great running back room – Ken Walker, Zach Charbonnet, Kenny McIntosh – but there’s a reason DeeJay has hung around. And I think if he can get his hands on the football, if he can get into the return game, he can help this football team out a lot.”

Hear Michael Bumpus answer four football questions at 11:15 a.m. daily during the Four-Down Territory segment on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy. Catch Bump and Stacy live from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each weekday on Seattle Sports, and click here to find podcasts from the show.