Bumpus: Carlos Hyde will end up as Seahawks’ best free-agent addition

The Seahawks made a number of key moves in the offseason for big name players, including trades for defensive backs Jamal Adams and Quinton Dunbar and the signings of tight end Greg Olsen and pass rusher Bruce Irvin.

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An addition that hasn’t received as much attention, however, is running back Carlos Hyde. That’s curious because Hyde was actually 13th in the NFL with 1,030 rushing yards for Houston last year, making him just one of 16 rushers to break the 1,000 yards.

The 30-year-old Ohio State product hasn’t had a chance to do much in three games with Seattle as he’s backing up Chris Carson and the offense has been much more pass heavy than usual, but Michael Bumpus expects that to change soon.

“The guy who I think is going to be their biggest and best acquisition is Carlos Hyde,” Bumpus, a former Seahawks wide receiver, told 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny and Gallant on Wednesday. “I think he’s going to have a chance this week to really show his worth because we know how Chris Carson plays. He’s gonna need a break, he might get banged up, and to keep things rolling you’re gonna need a good No. 2 running back.”

Carson already is banged up, too. He suffered a knee sprain thanks to a questionable (at best) move by Cowboys defensive tackle Trsyten Hill after a tackle in last Sunday’s 38-31 Seahawks win. That’s not the only reason why Bumpus expects Hyde to see a bigger role beginning this week against Miami, however.

“They haven’t tapped into the run game the way they potentially can yet, and you need two running backs in this offense for this thing to go,” he said.

Hyde has just 16 carries for 57 yards and Seattle’s lone rushing touchdown through its first six games. He also has three receptions for 26 yards. Carson, meanwhile, has 157 yards on 37 carries, plus 12 catches (on 12 targets) for 93 yards and three TDs. Whether or not Carson is active for this Sunday’s game, you’d have to imagine at least some of the opportunities usually afforded to him will go to Hyde because of the shape of his knee.

“Carlos, this is his week, his time to shine,” Bumpus said. “I see him when he runs, he looks explosive, he looks like he runs hard. Either we’re splitting the reps in the backfield as far as carries or we just have guys banged up – either way, he’s going to be asked to contribute.”

You can hear the full discussion about Hyde and much more on the Seahawks from Bumpus in the Blue 42 segment in the podcast from Danny and Gallant at this link or in the player below.

Follow Michael Bumpus on Twitter.

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